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.
You are a security analyst for a company that uses Microsoft Defender XDR. You receive a high-severity incident indicating that a user's device has been compromised with a remote access trojan (RAT). The incident is automatically generated by Microsoft Defender XDR. You need to contain the threat immediately while preserving forensic data. You also need to ensure that the user can continue working with minimal disruption. What should you do?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "immediately / without restart"
Why it matters: Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.
Initiate device isolation from Microsoft Defender XDR.
Isolation contains the threat and preserves evidence.
Restore the device from a recent backup.
Why wrong: May not be clean and could disrupt user data.
Run a full antivirus scan on the device.
Why wrong: Scan may be detected and evaded by the RAT.
Reset the user's password and force a sign-out.
Why wrong: Does not remove the RAT from the device.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Initiate device isolation from Microsoft Defender XDR.
Option A is correct because initiating device isolation from Microsoft Defender XDR immediately disconnects the device from the network while preserving forensic data on the device. This contains the RAT's command-and-control communication without disrupting the user's ability to work offline, and it allows the security team to investigate the compromised device without risk of lateral movement or data exfiltration.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Initiate device isolation from Microsoft Defender XDR.
Why this is correct
Isolation contains the threat and preserves evidence.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "immediately / without restart" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Restore the device from a recent backup.
Why it's wrong here
May not be clean and could disrupt user data.
Run a full antivirus scan on the device.
Why it's wrong here
Scan may be detected and evaded by the RAT.
Reset the user's password and force a sign-out.
Why it's wrong here
Does not remove the RAT from the device.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may choose a reactive remediation step like running a scan or resetting credentials, failing to recognize that immediate containment via network isolation is the priority to stop active compromise while preserving evidence.
Detailed technical explanation
Device isolation in Microsoft Defender XDR uses a combination of Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) and network stack modifications to block all inbound and outbound traffic except for connections to the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint cloud service. This ensures that forensic artifacts such as memory dumps, registry keys, and file system changes remain intact for analysis, while the RAT's C2 channel is severed at the network layer. In a real-world scenario, isolation can be initiated remotely via the Microsoft 365 Defender portal or through automated playbooks, and it supports both full isolation (blocking all network traffic) and selective isolation (allowing certain trusted IPs).
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
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FAQ
Manage a security operations environment — This question tests Manage a security operations environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Initiate device isolation from Microsoft Defender XDR. — Option A is correct because initiating device isolation from Microsoft Defender XDR immediately disconnects the device from the network while preserving forensic data on the device. This contains the RAT's command-and-control communication without disrupting the user's ability to work offline, and it allows the security team to investigate the compromised device without risk of lateral movement or data exfiltration.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "immediately / without restart". Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
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