SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity
This SC-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 security architect explains the Zero Trust model to the board. They state that every access request must be fully authenticated and authorized based on identity, device health, location, and risk, regardless of whether the user is on the corporate network. Which Zero Trust principle does this statement represent?
Correct. This principle requires that every access request be fully authenticated and authorized using all signals before granting access.
B
Least privilege
Why wrong: Incorrect. Least privilege limits access rights to the minimum needed, but does not describe the authentication/authorization step based on multiple signals.
C
Assume breach
Why wrong: Incorrect. Assume breach focuses on segmenting access, monitoring for lateral movement, and minimizing blast radius, not on verification of each request.
D
Microsegmentation
Why wrong: Incorrect. Microsegmentation is a technique used to enforce least privilege and restrict lateral movement, but it is not one of the three core Zero Trust principles.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Verify explicitly
The statement emphasizes that every access request must be authenticated and authorized based on identity, device health, location, and risk, regardless of network location. This directly aligns with the 'Verify explicitly' principle of Zero Trust, which mandates that authentication and authorization are performed for every request using all available data points, not just once at the perimeter.
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.
✓
Verify explicitly
Why this is correct
Correct. This principle requires that every access request be fully authenticated and authorized using all signals before granting access.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Least privilege
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Least privilege limits access rights to the minimum needed, but does not describe the authentication/authorization step based on multiple signals.
✗
Assume breach
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Assume breach focuses on segmenting access, monitoring for lateral movement, and minimizing blast radius, not on verification of each request.
✗
Microsegmentation
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Microsegmentation is a technique used to enforce least privilege and restrict lateral movement, but it is not one of the three core Zero Trust principles.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'Verify explicitly' with 'Least privilege' because both involve access control, but 'Verify explicitly' is about the continuous authentication/authorization of every request, while 'Least privilege' is about limiting permissions after access is granted.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, 'Verify explicitly' relies on technologies like Conditional Access in Azure AD, which evaluates signals such as user identity, device compliance (via Intune), location (IP address), and real-time risk (via Identity Protection) before granting a token. This principle ensures that even a user on the corporate LAN must re-authenticate if their device health or risk score changes mid-session, preventing implicit trust based on network location.
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 concepts of security, compliance, and identity — This question tests Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Verify explicitly — The statement emphasizes that every access request must be authenticated and authorized based on identity, device health, location, and risk, regardless of network location. This directly aligns with the 'Verify explicitly' principle of Zero Trust, which mandates that authentication and authorization are performed for every request using all available data points, not just once at the perimeter.
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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Question Discussion
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