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. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
You are troubleshooting a Conditional Access policy in Microsoft Entra ID. The policy in the exhibit is not blocking some sign-ins that you expected to block. What is the most likely reason?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The policy only blocks based on user risk, not sign-in risk
Option A is correct because the Conditional Access policy shown in the exhibit is configured to block access based on user risk level (e.g., high user risk), but it does not include sign-in risk as a condition. Sign-ins that exhibit suspicious behavior (e.g., from an anonymous IP address) but originate from a user account with low user risk will not be blocked, as the policy only evaluates user risk, not sign-in risk. To block such sign-ins, the policy must also include sign-in risk as a condition.
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.
✓
The policy only blocks based on user risk, not sign-in risk
Why this is correct
The conditions only include userRiskLevels, not signInRiskLevels.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The policy is not assigned to any users
Why it's wrong here
No assignment info is shown, but that is not indicated as issue.
✗
The grant control is set to allow access
Why it's wrong here
Grant control is set to block.
✗
The policy excludes certain users
Why it's wrong here
No exclude clause is shown.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume 'risk' in Conditional Access refers to both user and sign-in risk interchangeably, but the exam tests the distinction that these are separate conditions that must be explicitly configured in the policy.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
No assignment info is shown, but that is not indicated as issue.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Microsoft Entra ID, Conditional Access policies evaluate conditions such as user risk (calculated from user account anomalies) and sign-in risk (calculated from real-time session anomalies like impossible travel or anonymous IP addresses). These two risk types are independent; a policy can target one without the other. Under the hood, user risk is assessed via Microsoft Entra ID Protection's user risk detection, while sign-in risk is assessed via sign-in risk detections, and each triggers separate risk levels (low, medium, high). A common real-world scenario is a user with a low user risk account signing in from a Tor exit node—this would have high sign-in risk but low user risk, so a policy blocking only high user risk would not block it.
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: The policy only blocks based on user risk, not sign-in risk — Option A is correct because the Conditional Access policy shown in the exhibit is configured to block access based on user risk level (e.g., high user risk), but it does not include sign-in risk as a condition. Sign-ins that exhibit suspicious behavior (e.g., from an anonymous IP address) but originate from a user account with low user risk will not be blocked, as the policy only evaluates user risk, not sign-in risk. To block such sign-ins, the policy must also include sign-in risk as a condition.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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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