SC-200 Respond to security incidents Practice Question
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of respond to security incidents. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
```
DeviceName: DESKTOP-ABC123
AlertTime: 2025-03-01T14:32:00Z
AlertTitle: Malware detected
Severity: High
Status: Active
```
Refer to the exhibit. You are reviewing an alert in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. The alert details are shown. Which of the following actions should you take first?
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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
```
DeviceName: DESKTOP-ABC123
AlertTime: 2025-03-01T14:32:00Z
AlertTitle: Malware detected
Severity: High
Status: Active
```
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Investigate the device and the alert details
Option A is correct because the first step in incident response is to investigate the alert details and the affected device to understand the scope and severity of the threat. Without investigation, you cannot determine whether the alert is a true positive, whether isolation is appropriate, or which remediation steps are needed. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides a rich investigation experience, including the alert story, device timeline, and related events, which must be reviewed before taking any containment or remediation actions.
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.
✓
Investigate the device and the alert details
Why this is correct
Investigation is the first step.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Mark the alert as a false positive
Why it's wrong here
False positive requires investigation first.
✗
Initiate device isolation to contain the threat
Why it's wrong here
Isolation should follow investigation.
✗
Run a full antivirus scan on the device
Why it's wrong here
Scan is a later step.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often jump to containment (isolation) or remediation (scan) because they think speed is critical, but the SC-200 exam emphasizes that investigation must always come first to avoid disrupting business operations or misclassifying alerts.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, alerts are generated by detection engines that correlate signals from sensors, cloud analytics, and threat intelligence. The investigation process involves reviewing the alert's evidence, such as the process tree, file hashes, network connections, and related incidents, to determine the attack chain. A common real-world scenario is a 'suspicious PowerShell command' alert that may be legitimate administrative activity; investigating the command line, parent process, and user context is essential before taking any action.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SC-200 question in full detail.
Respond to security incidents — This question tests Respond to security incidents — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Investigate the device and the alert details — Option A is correct because the first step in incident response is to investigate the alert details and the affected device to understand the scope and severity of the threat. Without investigation, you cannot determine whether the alert is a true positive, whether isolation is appropriate, or which remediation steps are needed. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides a rich investigation experience, including the alert story, device timeline, and related events, which must be reviewed before taking any containment or remediation actions.
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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