Question 1,214 of 1,639

Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud →easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is to enable enhanced security features on the subscription, which activates the Defender for Cloud plans. This is the minimum configuration required to generate security alerts because the free tier of Defender for Cloud only provides basic security assessments and recommendations, not active threat detection. By enabling enhanced security features—now called Defender for Cloud plans—you unlock workload protection plans like Defender for Servers or Defender for SQL, which perform continuous monitoring and generate alerts for suspicious activities across your resources. On the SC-200 exam, this tests your understanding of the fundamental difference between the free and paid tiers, often appearing as a trick where candidates mistakenly think enabling a specific plan or agent is the minimum step. A common trap is assuming you need to install the Log Analytics agent first, but the platform-level toggle is the prerequisite. Memory tip: think “Plan first, agent second”—the subscription-level switch is the gatekeeper for all alerts.

SC-200 Practice Question: Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud

This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of mitigate threats using microsoft defender for cloud. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.

A security administrator wants to enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud on all Azure subscriptions to generate security alerts for resources. What is the minimum configuration required on a subscription?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

Question 1easymultiple choice

Full question →

A
Assign Azure Policy to enable Defender for Cloud plans on the subscription
Why wrong: Azure Policy can be used to enforce configuration, but it is not the minimum step; you need to first enable enhanced security features directly on the subscription.
B
Enable enhanced security features on the subscription
Enabling enhanced security features (Standard tier) is the minimum requirement to start receiving security alerts for all supported resources.
C
Install the Azure Monitor Agent on all virtual machines in the subscription
Why wrong: The Azure Monitor Agent is required for collecting certain data, but it is not necessary for basic alert generation from Defender for Cloud's built-in threat detections.
D
Enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud at the management group level only
Why wrong: While enabling at the management group level can propagate settings to subscriptions, the minimum configuration for a single subscription is to enable enhanced security features directly on that subscription.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

✓

Enable enhanced security features on the subscription

Option B is correct because enabling enhanced security features (now called Defender for Cloud plans) on a subscription is the minimum configuration required to generate security alerts. This action activates the Defender for Cloud workload protection plans (e.g., Defender for Servers, Defender for SQL) that provide threat detection and alerts for resources within that subscription. Without this step, the subscription remains in the free tier, which only offers basic security assessments and recommendations, not security alerts.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
Assign Azure Policy to enable Defender for Cloud plans on the subscription
Why it's wrong here
Azure Policy can be used to enforce configuration, but it is not the minimum step; you need to first enable enhanced security features directly on the subscription.
✓
Enable enhanced security features on the subscription
Why this is correct
Enabling enhanced security features (Standard tier) is the minimum requirement to start receiving security alerts for all supported resources.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Install the Azure Monitor Agent on all virtual machines in the subscription
Why it's wrong here
The Azure Monitor Agent is required for collecting certain data, but it is not necessary for basic alert generation from Defender for Cloud's built-in threat detections.
✗
Enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud at the management group level only
Why it's wrong here
While enabling at the management group level can propagate settings to subscriptions, the minimum configuration for a single subscription is to enable enhanced security features directly on that subscription.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse enabling Defender for Cloud plans (the minimum requirement for alerts) with deploying agents or assigning policies, which are additional steps for enhanced coverage or governance, not the baseline configuration.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Under the hood, enabling Defender for Cloud plans on a subscription triggers the deployment of the Defender for Cloud backend components, such as the Log Analytics agent (for legacy plans) or the Azure Monitor Agent integration, and activates the security alert pipeline that correlates signals from Azure resource telemetry, threat intelligence feeds, and behavioral analytics. A subtle behavior is that even without the agent, Defender for Cloud can generate alerts based on Azure Activity Logs, network security group flow logs, and other platform-level data, but for deeper host-level alerts (e.g., fileless attack detection), the agent is required. In a real-world scenario, a security administrator might enable Defender for Cloud on a subscription and immediately see alerts for suspicious sign-in activities or anomalous resource deployments without any agent installation.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.

TExam Day Tips

Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SC-200 question test?

Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud — This question tests Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Enable enhanced security features on the subscription — Option B is correct because enabling enhanced security features (now called Defender for Cloud plans) on a subscription is the minimum configuration required to generate security alerts. This action activates the Defender for Cloud workload protection plans (e.g., Defender for Servers, Defender for SQL) that provide threat detection and alerts for resources within that subscription. Without this step, the subscription remains in the free tier, which only offers basic security assessments and recommendations, not security alerts.

What should I do if I get this SC-200 question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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