SC-900 Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra Practice Question
This SC-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe the capabilities of microsoft entra. 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.
A company uses Microsoft Entra ID. They want to enforce that users accessing the payroll application from outside the corporate network must use multifactor authentication and must access the app only from devices that are marked as compliant by Intune. Which Conditional Access component should they use to combine these requirements?
Why wrong: Conditions define *when* the policy triggers (e.g., external network), not the actions to enforce.
B
Grant controls
Correct. Grant controls allow you to require MFA, require compliant device, or other controls to be satisfied before access is granted.
C
Sign-in risk policy
Why wrong: Sign-in risk policy is used in Identity Protection to respond to risky sign-ins, not to require MFA or device compliance in a Conditional Access policy.
D
Session controls
Why wrong: Session controls enforce restrictions within the cloud app (e.g., block download), not the authentication requirements.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Grant controls
B is correct because Grant controls in a Conditional Access policy allow administrators to specify the access requirements that must be satisfied before a user can access a resource. In this scenario, the requirement to enforce both multifactor authentication and device compliance (from Intune) is achieved by configuring the Grant control to 'Require multifactor authentication' and 'Require device to be marked as compliant', combined with the 'Require all the selected controls' option. This ensures that both conditions must be met simultaneously for access to the payroll application from outside the corporate network.
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.
✗
Conditions
Why it's wrong here
Conditions define *when* the policy triggers (e.g., external network), not the actions to enforce.
✓
Grant controls
Why this is correct
Correct. Grant controls allow you to require MFA, require compliant device, or other controls to be satisfied before access is granted.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Sign-in risk policy
Why it's wrong here
Sign-in risk policy is used in Identity Protection to respond to risky sign-ins, not to require MFA or device compliance in a Conditional Access policy.
✗
Session controls
Why it's wrong here
Session controls enforce restrictions within the cloud app (e.g., block download), not the authentication requirements.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse 'Conditions' (the 'when' and 'where' of the policy) with 'Grant controls' (the 'what must happen' to gain access), leading them to incorrectly select Conditions as the component that combines the requirements.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Conditional Access Grant controls use a Boolean logic system where multiple controls can be set to 'Require all' (AND) or 'Require one' (OR). When 'Require device to be marked as compliant' is selected, Entra ID checks the device's compliance status via the Microsoft Graph API, which receives compliance state data from Intune's MDM agent. This integration ensures that only devices with a compliant health attestation (e.g., encryption enabled, up-to-date patches) can satisfy the policy, and the MFA challenge is enforced via the Microsoft Authenticator or other configured methods before the token is issued.
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
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-900 question in full detail.
Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra — This question tests Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Grant controls — B is correct because Grant controls in a Conditional Access policy allow administrators to specify the access requirements that must be satisfied before a user can access a resource. In this scenario, the requirement to enforce both multifactor authentication and device compliance (from Intune) is achieved by configuring the Grant control to 'Require multifactor authentication' and 'Require device to be marked as compliant', combined with the 'Require all the selected controls' option. This ensures that both conditions must be met simultaneously for access to the payroll application from outside the corporate network.
What should I do if I get this SC-900 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.
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