- A
Assign an Azure Policy initiative to enable Defender for Cloud on each subscription
Why wrong: Azure Policy is a powerful tool for governance, but it is not the minimal step to enable Defender for Cloud on all subscriptions.
- B
Enable the required Defender for Cloud plans at the management group level
This propagates the enabled plans to all subscriptions under the management group, making it the simplest and minimal step.
- C
Install the Log Analytics agent on all virtual machines in each subscription
Why wrong: The Log Analytics agent is required for some features like guest OS monitoring, but it is not required to enable the core Defender for Cloud plans.
- D
Create a security contact email for each subscription
Why wrong: A security contact is used to receive notifications about security alerts, but it is not a prerequisite for enabling Defender for Cloud plans.
SC-200 Practice Question: Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud
This SC-200 practice question tests your understanding of mitigate threats using microsoft defender for cloud. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.
Your organization has multiple Azure subscriptions and wants to ensure that all of them have Microsoft Defender for Cloud's enhanced security features enabled. What is the minimal step required to achieve this for all subscriptions?
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
Enable the required Defender for Cloud plans at the management group level
Enabling Microsoft Defender for Cloud plans at the management group level is the minimal step because it applies the configuration to all child subscriptions under that management group in a single action. This leverages Azure's hierarchical management structure, ensuring every subscription inherits the enhanced security features without needing individual subscription-level configuration.
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.
- ✗
Assign an Azure Policy initiative to enable Defender for Cloud on each subscription
Why it's wrong here
Azure Policy is a powerful tool for governance, but it is not the minimal step to enable Defender for Cloud on all subscriptions.
- ✓
Enable the required Defender for Cloud plans at the management group level
Why this is correct
This propagates the enabled plans to all subscriptions under the management group, making it the simplest and minimal step.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Install the Log Analytics agent on all virtual machines in each subscription
Why it's wrong here
The Log Analytics agent is required for some features like guest OS monitoring, but it is not required to enable the core Defender for Cloud plans.
- ✗
Create a security contact email for each subscription
Why it's wrong here
A security contact is used to receive notifications about security alerts, but it is not a prerequisite for enabling Defender for Cloud plans.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse enabling Defender for Cloud plans with deploying agents or configuring policies, but the minimal step is simply toggling the plans at the management group scope, which applies to all child subscriptions automatically.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When you enable Defender for Cloud plans at the management group level, the setting is propagated via Azure Resource Manager inheritance to all subscriptions within that group, overriding any subscription-level settings unless explicitly overridden. This is efficient for large organizations with hundreds of subscriptions, as it avoids manual per-subscription configuration and ensures consistent security posture across the entire Azure tenant.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SC-200 question test?
Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud — This question tests Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable the required Defender for Cloud plans at the management group level — Enabling Microsoft Defender for Cloud plans at the management group level is the minimal step because it applies the configuration to all child subscriptions under that management group in a single action. This leverages Azure's hierarchical management structure, ensuring every subscription inherits the enhanced security features without needing individual subscription-level configuration.
What should I do if I get this SC-200 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 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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