- A
Configure the rule to group all alerts into a single incident per entity.
Why wrong: Grouping does not filter false positives.
- B
Increase the rule run frequency.
Why wrong: This would generate more incidents, not reduce false positives.
- C
Change the incident severity to Informational.
Why wrong: This does not reduce the number of incidents.
- D
Modify the rule's query to include additional filters.
Adding filters can exclude benign activity.
- E
Create an automation rule to close incidents that match certain criteria.
Automation rules can automatically close false positive incidents.
SC-200 Manage a security operations environment Practice Question
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of manage a security operations environment. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
Which TWO actions are valid ways to reduce the number of false positive incidents in Microsoft Sentinel without disabling analytics rules?
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
Modify the rule's query to include additional filters.
Option D is correct because modifying the rule's query to include additional filters directly reduces false positives by narrowing the conditions that trigger an alert. This approach refines the detection logic without disabling the rule, ensuring only events that more precisely match the intended threat pattern generate incidents.
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.
- ✗
Configure the rule to group all alerts into a single incident per entity.
Why it's wrong here
Grouping does not filter false positives.
- ✗
Increase the rule run frequency.
Why it's wrong here
This would generate more incidents, not reduce false positives.
- ✗
Change the incident severity to Informational.
Why it's wrong here
This does not reduce the number of incidents.
- ✓
Modify the rule's query to include additional filters.
Why this is correct
Adding filters can exclude benign activity.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Create an automation rule to close incidents that match certain criteria.
Why this is correct
Automation rules can automatically close false positive incidents.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse reducing incident volume (via grouping or severity changes) with reducing false positives, but only query modifications or automation rules that close specific false incidents actually address the root cause of inaccurate detections.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Sentinel analytics rules use KQL queries to match log data against detection patterns. Adding filters (e.g., excluding known benign IPs, specific user agents, or time-based conditions) reduces the result set that triggers the rule, directly lowering the false positive rate. In real-world scenarios, a common filter is to exclude administrative or monitoring accounts from user behavior analytics rules to avoid noise from legitimate activity.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SC-200 question test?
Manage a security operations environment — This question tests Manage a security operations environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Modify the rule's query to include additional filters. — Option D is correct because modifying the rule's query to include additional filters directly reduces false positives by narrowing the conditions that trigger an alert. This approach refines the detection logic without disabling the rule, ensuring only events that more precisely match the intended threat pattern generate incidents.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This SC-200 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SC-200 exam.
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