This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of respond to security incidents. 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 responding to an incident where a user's credentials were used to access a federated SaaS application from an IP address associated with a known threat actor. The user's account is not disabled. Which action is most effective to prevent further unauthorized access?
Reset the user's password and revoke active sessions
This invalidates the compromised credentials and terminates current sessions.
Create a Conditional Access policy to block the IP
Why wrong: Policy takes time to propagate; immediate action needed.
Disable the user's account
Why wrong: Effective but more disruptive; resetting is preferred.
Block the source IP address on the firewall
Why wrong: IP blocking is easily bypassed.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Reset the user's password and revoke active sessions
Resetting the user's password and revoking tokens is the most effective because it invalidates current sessions and prevents further use of stolen credentials. Disabling the account is also effective but may cause business disruption; resetting and revoking is less disruptive. Blocking IP may not be effective if threat actor uses different IPs. Conditional access policy change is slower.
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.
Reset the user's password and revoke active sessions
Why this is correct
This invalidates the compromised credentials and terminates current sessions.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Create a Conditional Access policy to block the IP
Why it's wrong here
Policy takes time to propagate; immediate action needed.
Disable the user's account
Why it's wrong here
Effective but more disruptive; resetting is preferred.
Block the source IP address on the firewall
Why it's wrong here
IP blocking is easily bypassed.
Common exam traps
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
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.
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
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.
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FAQ
Respond to security incidents — This question tests Respond to security incidents — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Reset the user's password and revoke active sessions — Resetting the user's password and revoking tokens is the most effective because it invalidates current sessions and prevents further use of stolen credentials. Disabling the account is also effective but may cause business disruption; resetting and revoking is less disruptive. Blocking IP may not be effective if threat actor uses different IPs. Conditional access policy change is slower.
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.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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.
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