The correct answer is to investigate the incident to confirm the activity is malicious. This is because the very first step in incident response is to verify the alert is a true positive before containment, ensuring you do not waste resources or disrupt legitimate operations on a false alarm. On the Microsoft Security Operations Analyst SC-200 exam, this principle tests your understanding of the NIST incident response lifecycle, specifically the “Detection & Analysis” phase, where triage and validation precede eradication or containment. A common trap is jumping to an automated containment action, like blocking an IP or disabling a storage account, which can cause business disruption if the alert is benign. Remember the memory tip: “Verify before you rectify”—always confirm the threat is real before pulling the trigger on containment.
SC-200 Respond to security incidents Practice Question
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.
Your organization uses Microsoft Sentinel. You receive a high-severity incident indicating a potential data exfiltration from an Azure Storage account. The incident contains entities such as IP addresses and user accounts. Which step should you perform first to contain the threat?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Investigate the incident to confirm the activity is malicious
Option C is correct because the first step in incident response is to verify the alert is a true positive before taking containment actions. Option A is wrong because blocking the IP may be premature if the alert is false. Option B is wrong because disabling the storage account could impact legitimate operations. Option D is wrong because contacting the user may tip off a malicious insider.
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.
✗
Contact the user associated with the storage account
Why it's wrong here
Contacting the user may alert a potential attacker.
✗
Block the suspicious IP address in the Azure Firewall
Why it's wrong here
Blocking without verification may cause unnecessary disruption.
✓
Investigate the incident to confirm the activity is malicious
Why this is correct
Verification is the standard first step in incident response.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Disable the storage account
Why it's wrong here
Disabling the account should be a containment step after confirmation.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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.
Respond to security incidents — This question tests Respond to security incidents — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Investigate the incident to confirm the activity is malicious — Option C is correct because the first step in incident response is to verify the alert is a true positive before taking containment actions. Option A is wrong because blocking the IP may be premature if the alert is false. Option B is wrong because disabling the storage account could impact legitimate operations. Option D is wrong because contacting the user may tip off a malicious insider.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
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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