The correct answer is to create a custom analytics rule with an alert suppression condition matching the sign-in attributes. This works because alert suppression in Microsoft Sentinel allows you to define conditions—such as specific user names, IP addresses, or geographic locations—that, when matched, will automatically close resulting alerts without creating incidents, effectively silencing future false positives. On the SC-200 exam, this question tests your understanding of the distinction between incident handling and proactive detection tuning; a common trap is confusing automation rules (which handle response actions like tagging or assigning) with suppression logic, or assuming that closing a single incident prevents recurrence. Remember the key memory tip: suppression stops the alert from becoming an incident, while automation rules act on incidents after they are created.
SC-200 Respond to security incidents Practice Question
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of respond to security incidents. 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.
Your organization uses Microsoft Sentinel. A security analyst reports that an incident was created for a sign-in from an unfamiliar location, but after investigation, it was determined to be a false positive. You need to ensure that similar sign-ins do not generate incidents in the future. What should you do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a custom analytics rule with an alert suppression condition matching the sign-in attributes.
Option B is correct because creating a custom analytics rule with an alert suppression condition based on the specific location or user attributes will prevent future alerts for similar events. Option A is wrong because closing the incident does not suppress future alerts. Option C is wrong because modifying the built-in rule's query is not recommended and may affect other detections. Option D is wrong because automation rules handle response actions, not alert suppression.
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.
✗
Modify the built-in Microsoft analytics rule to exclude the sign-in location.
Why it's wrong here
Built-in rules are managed by Microsoft and should not be modified directly.
✗
Close the incident with a classification of False Positive.
Why it's wrong here
Closing the incident does not prevent future alerts from the same pattern.
✗
Create an automation rule that automatically closes similar incidents.
Why it's wrong here
Automation rules can close incidents but do not suppress alert creation.
✓
Create a custom analytics rule with an alert suppression condition matching the sign-in attributes.
Why this is correct
Alert suppression allows you to exclude certain events from triggering alerts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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.
Identify which SC-200 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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: Create a custom analytics rule with an alert suppression condition matching the sign-in attributes. — Option B is correct because creating a custom analytics rule with an alert suppression condition based on the specific location or user attributes will prevent future alerts for similar events. Option A is wrong because closing the incident does not suppress future alerts. Option C is wrong because modifying the built-in rule's query is not recommended and may affect other detections. Option D is wrong because automation rules handle response actions, not alert suppression.
What should I do if I get this SC-200 question wrong?
Identify which SC-200 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. You are reviewing a scheduled analytics rule in Microsoft Sentinel. What does the suppressionDuration setting affect?
hard
A.It groups alerts into a single incident within that time window.
B.It delays the execution of the query by that amount of time.
C.It determines how often the query runs.
✓ D.It stops the rule from creating new alerts for that duration after an alert is generated.
Why D: Option C is correct. Suppression duration determines how long to wait before creating another alert from the same rule after an alert is generated, suppressing duplicates. Option A is wrong because it does not affect query execution. Option B is wrong because it does not affect incident grouping. Option D is wrong because it does not stop the rule from running.
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Question Discussion
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