The answer is to create an automation rule in Microsoft Sentinel that triggers when an incident is created from Defender for Cloud with a severity of Low or Medium, and set the status to Closed. This works because automation rules allow you to suppress low-severity incidents from Defender for Cloud without modifying the underlying 'ASC Default' policy initiative, which you are instructed not to change. By closing only Low and Medium severity incidents, high-severity alerts still flow into Sentinel as actionable incidents, directly addressing the need to reduce noise while preserving critical visibility. On the SC-200 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of automation rules versus analytics rules or connector settings—a common trap is trying to edit built-in analytics rules, which is not possible, or disabling the data connector, which would block all incidents. Remember the memory tip: "Close the noise, keep the fire"—automation rules close low-severity incidents, while high-severity incidents remain open for investigation.
SC-200 Manage a security operations environment Practice Question
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of manage a security operations environment. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 operations analyst for a large enterprise with a hybrid environment. Your organization uses Microsoft Sentinel as the central SIEM, Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Azure workloads, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for endpoints, and Microsoft Defender for Identity for on-premises Active Directory. Recently, the security team has been overwhelmed by a high volume of low-severity incidents from Defender for Cloud that are not actionable. These incidents are generated from the built-in 'ASC Default' policy initiative. You need to reduce the noise without disabling the entire policy. The security team still wants to be alerted on high-severity incidents. You have been asked to implement a solution that automatically suppresses low-severity incidents from Defender for Cloud but still allows high-severity ones to be created in Sentinel. You must not modify the policy initiative itself. 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 an automation rule that triggers when an incident is created from Defender for Cloud with severity Low or Medium, and set the status to Closed.
Option B is correct because creating an automation rule that automatically closes low-severity incidents from Defender for Cloud will reduce noise while still allowing high-severity incidents to be created. Option A is wrong because modifying the analytics rule is not possible for built-in rules; also it would affect all severities. Option C is wrong because creating a separate analytics rule does not suppress the existing ones. Option D is wrong because turning off the connector would stop all incidents.
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 a new analytics rule that creates incidents only for high-severity alerts from Defender for Cloud.
Why it's wrong here
This does not suppress the existing incidents from the built-in rule.
✗
Modify the 'ASC Default' analytics rule in Sentinel to only trigger on high-severity alerts.
Why it's wrong here
You cannot modify built-in analytics rules; they are managed by Microsoft.
✗
Turn off the Defender for Cloud data connector in Sentinel.
Why it's wrong here
This would stop all incidents, including high-severity ones.
✓
Create an automation rule that triggers when an incident is created from Defender for Cloud with severity Low or Medium, and set the status to Closed.
Why this is correct
This automatically closes low-severity incidents, reducing noise.
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 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.
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.
Manage a security operations environment — This question tests Manage a security operations environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an automation rule that triggers when an incident is created from Defender for Cloud with severity Low or Medium, and set the status to Closed. — Option B is correct because creating an automation rule that automatically closes low-severity incidents from Defender for Cloud will reduce noise while still allowing high-severity incidents to be created. Option A is wrong because modifying the analytics rule is not possible for built-in rules; also it would affect all severities. Option C is wrong because creating a separate analytics rule does not suppress the existing ones. Option D is wrong because turning off the connector would stop all incidents.
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.
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Question Discussion
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