The answer is using watchlists to maintain high-value indicators for matching and creating custom hunting queries. Watchlists act as curated, dynamic reference data that allow you to correlate large volumes of logs against known malicious entities like IP addresses or hashes, making threat hunting more efficient and precise. Custom hunting queries, on the other hand, are the backbone of proactive threat hunting in Microsoft Sentinel, enabling you to search for specific patterns of behavior that built-in detections might miss. On the SC-200 exam, this question tests your understanding of how to operationalize threat hunting beyond automated alerts; a common trap is assuming that disabling alerts or deleting data improves hunting scope, when in fact both reduce visibility. Remember the mnemonic “WATCH and QUERY” — watchlists for known bads, custom queries for unknown patterns — to avoid confusing passive monitoring with active hunting.
SC-200 Perform threat hunting Practice Question
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of perform threat hunting. 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 of the following are recommended practices when performing threat hunting in Microsoft Sentinel? (Choose 2)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create custom hunting queries based on hypothesis
Options B and D are correct. Option B: Using watchlists to store known indicators helps in matching. Option D: Creating custom hunting queries is essential for proactive hunting. Option A is wrong because disabling alerts would miss possible incidents. Option C is wrong because deleting data reduces hunting scope. Option E is wrong because manual analysis is necessary alongside automation.
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.
✓
Create custom hunting queries based on hypothesis
Why this is correct
Hypothesis-driven hunting is a best practice.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Rely solely on automated detection rules
Why it's wrong here
Automation alone misses novel threats; manual hunting is needed.
✗
Disable all built-in analytics rules to avoid noise
Why it's wrong here
Disabling rules would miss alerts; tune them instead.
✗
Delete log data older than 30 days to improve query performance
Why it's wrong here
Deleting data reduces visibility; use retention policies instead.
✓
Use watchlists to maintain high-value indicators for matching
Why this is correct
Watchlists help in comparing events against known IOCs.
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.
Perform threat hunting — This question tests Perform threat hunting — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create custom hunting queries based on hypothesis — Options B and D are correct. Option B: Using watchlists to store known indicators helps in matching. Option D: Creating custom hunting queries is essential for proactive hunting. Option A is wrong because disabling alerts would miss possible incidents. Option C is wrong because deleting data reduces hunting scope. Option E is wrong because manual analysis is necessary alongside automation.
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 →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.