SC-200 Manage a security operations environment Practice Question
Which TWO roles in Microsoft Entra ID can manage Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps? (Select two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse the Compliance Administrator role as having security management capabilities due to its name, but it is strictly limited to compliance tasks and cannot manage Defender for Cloud Apps.
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
✓
Security Administrator
The Security Administrator role in Microsoft Entra ID has the necessary permissions to manage Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, including configuring policies, investigating alerts, and managing app permissions. This role is specifically designed for security-related tasks within Microsoft 365 security products, making it a correct choice for managing Defender for Cloud Apps.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Compliance Administrator
Why it's wrong here
Compliance Administrator is scoped to regulatory and compliance functions, such as eDiscovery, data loss prevention, and audit log management. It does not include the security permissions needed to configure or manage Microsoft Defender policies, alerts, or incident response, making it unable to perform the required management tasks.
- ✓
Security Administrator
Why this is correct
Security Administrator is one of the two Microsoft Entra ID roles that can manage Microsoft Defender. It has broad permissions to read, configure, and manage security settings across the organization, including threat protection policies, security alerts, and Defender for Endpoint and Defender for Office 365 configurations. This role is designed for day-to-day security operations.
- ✓
Global Administrator
Why this is correct
Global Administrator holds full access to all services and settings in Microsoft Entra ID, including all security workloads. Because it inherits every permission, it can manage Microsoft Defender, including policies, incidents, and integrations. It is the second role with the necessary management capabilities, though Microsoft recommends using least-privilege roles like Security Administrator when possible.
- ✗
Security Reader
Why it's wrong here
Security Reader provides read-only access to security-related data and configurations. Users with this role can view the state of Microsoft Defender, such as active alerts and existing policies, but they cannot modify settings, dismiss alerts, or take response actions. Therefore, it cannot manage Microsoft Defender, only observe its status.
- ✗
Application Administrator
Why it's wrong here
Application Administrator focuses on managing application registrations, enterprise applications, and application-related consent. It has no permissions within the security workload that governs Microsoft Defender, so it cannot configure security policies, investigate incidents, or manage threat protection. This role is not a valid choice for managing Defender.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.