The correct answer is to assign the 'Sign-in risk' condition to 'Medium and above' and grant 'Require MFA'. This configuration directly addresses the need for a risk-based conditional access MFA with sign-in risk, because Microsoft Entra ID’s sign-in risk detection evaluates real-time signals—such as anonymous IP addresses or atypical travel—to determine the likelihood of a compromised session. By setting the condition to medium or high, the policy triggers MFA only when the risk is elevated, aligning perfectly with the scenario. On the SC-900 exam, this tests your understanding of how conditional access policies integrate with Identity Protection risk detections; a common trap is confusing sign-in risk with user risk, which instead tracks compromised accounts over time. Remember the memory tip: “Sign-in risk is about the session, user risk is about the account.”
SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions
This SC-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe the capabilities of microsoft security solutions. 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.
An organization uses Microsoft Entra ID for identity management. They want to implement a risk-based conditional access policy that requires multi-factor authentication (MFA) when sign-in risk is medium or high. Which policy settings should they configure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Assign 'Sign-in risk' condition to 'Medium and above' and grant 'Require MFA'
Option D is correct because the scenario explicitly requires a risk-based conditional access policy that triggers MFA based on sign-in risk level. In Microsoft Entra ID, the 'Sign-in risk' condition evaluates the likelihood that the authentication attempt is not legitimate, using signals such as anonymous IP addresses, atypical travel, or malware-linked IPs. By setting this condition to 'Medium and above' and granting 'Require MFA', the policy enforces MFA only when the sign-in risk is assessed as medium or high, directly matching the requirement.
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 'User risk' condition to 'Medium and above' and grant 'Require MFA'
Why it's wrong here
User risk is for compromised users, not sign-in sessions.
✗
Assign 'Device compliance' condition to 'Compliant' and grant 'Require MFA'
Why it's wrong here
Device compliance doesn't assess sign-in risk.
✗
Assign 'Location' condition to 'All trusted locations' and grant 'Require MFA'
Why it's wrong here
Location is not risk-based.
✓
Assign 'Sign-in risk' condition to 'Medium and above' and grant 'Require MFA'
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing 'User risk' (which targets compromised user accounts) with 'Sign-in risk' (which targets suspicious authentication attempts), leading candidates to incorrectly select Option A when the question specifically asks about sign-in risk.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Sign-in risk is calculated in real-time by Microsoft Entra ID Protection using machine learning models that analyze signals like impossible travel, anonymous IP addresses, unfamiliar sign-in properties, and malware-linked IP addresses. The risk level is categorized as low, medium, high, or none, and the 'Medium and above' setting includes both medium and high risk levels. A real-world scenario: if a user signs in from a known location but with a new device and an anonymous VPN, the sign-in risk might be assessed as medium, triggering MFA even though the user account itself is not compromised.
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 security solutions — This question tests Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Assign 'Sign-in risk' condition to 'Medium and above' and grant 'Require MFA' — Option D is correct because the scenario explicitly requires a risk-based conditional access policy that triggers MFA based on sign-in risk level. In Microsoft Entra ID, the 'Sign-in risk' condition evaluates the likelihood that the authentication attempt is not legitimate, using signals such as anonymous IP addresses, atypical travel, or malware-linked IPs. By setting this condition to 'Medium and above' and granting 'Require MFA', the policy enforces MFA only when the sign-in risk is assessed as medium or high, directly matching the requirement.
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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