The correct answer is to configure an automated investigation and remediation rule in Microsoft Defender XDR to suppress alerts matching the legacy application pattern. This works because these rules allow you to define conditions—such as specific user login patterns or application names—and then apply actions like hiding matching alerts from the incident queue, effectively reducing false positive noise without disabling the underlying detection rule. On the SC-200 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the distinction between Defender XDR’s native suppression capabilities and Sentinel’s separate tools; a common trap is to confuse alert suppression with modifying analytics rules in Sentinel, which would disable the detection entirely rather than filtering out specific patterns. Remember the key difference: Defender XDR automation rules suppress alerts at the alert level, while Sentinel analytics rules control detection logic. A useful memory tip is “Suppress in Defender, detect in Sentinel”—if you only need to quiet false positives, stay within Defender’s automation rules.
SC-200 Manage a security operations environment Practice Question
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of manage a security operations environment. 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.
Your organization uses Microsoft Defender XDR and Microsoft Sentinel. The security operations center (SOC) team frequently receives false positive alerts for a specific user login pattern from a legacy application. You need to reduce alert fatigue without disabling the underlying detection rule. What should you configure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure an automated investigation and remediation rule in Microsoft Defender XDR to suppress alerts matching the legacy application pattern.
Option C is correct because automated investigation and remediation rules in Microsoft Defender XDR allow you to take action on alerts, including suppressing false positives based on conditions. Option A is wrong because modifying the analytics rule in Sentinel would affect all detections of that rule, not just the legacy app pattern. Option B is wrong because a watchlist in Sentinel is used for correlation, not suppression. Option D is wrong because bookmarks are for preserving evidence, not suppressing alerts.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Use Microsoft Sentinel bookmarks to mark the alerts as false positives.
Why it's wrong here
Bookmarks are for preserving evidence, not for automated suppression.
✓
Configure an automated investigation and remediation rule in Microsoft Defender XDR to suppress alerts matching the legacy application pattern.
Why this is correct
Automated investigation rules can suppress false positives based on conditions.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Create a watchlist in Microsoft Sentinel containing the legacy application's user accounts and use it in the rule.
Why it's wrong here
Watchlists are for correlation, not suppression of alerts.
✗
Modify the analytics rule in Microsoft Sentinel to exclude the legacy application IP range.
Why it's wrong here
This would affect all detections, not just false positives, and is harder to maintain.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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. NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated. 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.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SC-200 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Manage a security operations environment — This question tests Manage a security operations environment — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure an automated investigation and remediation rule in Microsoft Defender XDR to suppress alerts matching the legacy application pattern. — Option C is correct because automated investigation and remediation rules in Microsoft Defender XDR allow you to take action on alerts, including suppressing false positives based on conditions. Option A is wrong because modifying the analytics rule in Sentinel would affect all detections of that rule, not just the legacy app pattern. Option B is wrong because a watchlist in Sentinel is used for correlation, not suppression. Option D is wrong because bookmarks are for preserving evidence, not suppressing alerts.
What should I do if I get this SC-200 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SC-200 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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