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. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 company wants to enable vulnerability scanning for Azure virtual machines using the integrated Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management solution. What is the first step?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable the 'Servers' plan in Defender for Cloud.
The first step to enable vulnerability scanning for Azure VMs using the integrated Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management solution is to enable the 'Servers' plan in Defender for Cloud. This plan activates the Defender for Cloud integration with Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, which automatically discovers and assesses vulnerabilities on supported Azure VMs without requiring any additional agent or extension installation. Once the plan is enabled, vulnerability assessment is performed natively by the Defender for Cloud platform.
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.
✗
Install the Defender Vulnerability Management extension on each VM.
Why it's wrong here
The extension is deployed automatically once the plan is enabled; manual installation is not required.
✓
Enable the 'Servers' plan in Defender for Cloud.
Why this is correct
Enabling the Servers plan for the subscription activates the integrated vulnerability assessment, which auto-deploys the solution.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Configure a vulnerability assessment solution in the VM's security settings.
Why it's wrong here
There is no per-VM configuration; the plan is enabled at the subscription level.
✗
Create a vulnerability assessment rule in Azure Policy.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Policy can enforce compliance, but the first step is to enable the plan in Defender for Cloud.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume a separate extension or agent must be installed (Option A) because they are familiar with traditional vulnerability scanning tools, but Microsoft Defender for Cloud's integrated solution is agentless and activated by enabling the 'Servers' plan.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, when the 'Servers' plan is enabled, Defender for Cloud leverages the Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management engine, which uses the built-in Qualys agent (deployed automatically by the platform) to perform continuous, agentless vulnerability scanning. This integration provides real-time vulnerability data without manual agent deployment, and the results are surfaced in the Defender for Cloud dashboard. In a real-world scenario, an organization with hundreds of VMs can enable vulnerability scanning across all of them by simply toggling the 'Servers' plan on at the subscription level, avoiding the operational overhead of installing agents individually.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SC-200 question in full detail.
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 the 'Servers' plan in Defender for Cloud. — The first step to enable vulnerability scanning for Azure VMs using the integrated Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management solution is to enable the 'Servers' plan in Defender for Cloud. This plan activates the Defender for Cloud integration with Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, which automatically discovers and assesses vulnerabilities on supported Azure VMs without requiring any additional agent or extension installation. Once the plan is enabled, vulnerability assessment is performed natively by the Defender for Cloud platform.
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: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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