- A
The user does not have an appropriate license
Why wrong: Licensing affects features, but Audit (Standard) is available to all eligible users.
- B
Audit log retention is limited to 90 days for Audit (Standard)
Audit (Standard) retains logs for 90 days; beyond that, logs are purged.
- C
The organization has insufficient storage
Why wrong: Storage is managed by Microsoft and does not cause log loss.
- D
The audit logs were manually deleted by an administrator
Why wrong: Administrators cannot manually delete audit logs.
Question 688 of 1,411
SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions
This SC-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe the capabilities of microsoft compliance solutions. 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.
Your organization uses Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) and needs to investigate a data breach that occurred 120 days ago. You discover that the required audit logs are not available. 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 choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Audit log retention is limited to 90 days for Audit (Standard)
Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) retains audit logs for only 90 days by default. Since the data breach occurred 120 days ago, the logs would have been automatically purged after the retention period expired, making them unavailable for investigation.
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 user does not have an appropriate license
Why it's wrong here
Licensing affects features, but Audit (Standard) is available to all eligible users.
- ✓
Audit log retention is limited to 90 days for Audit (Standard)
Why this is correct
Audit (Standard) retains logs for 90 days; beyond that, logs are purged.
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 organization has insufficient storage
Why it's wrong here
Storage is managed by Microsoft and does not cause log loss.
- ✗
The audit logs were manually deleted by an administrator
Why it's wrong here
Administrators cannot manually delete audit logs.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may assume licensing or storage issues cause log unavailability, but the SC-900 specifically tests the 90-day retention limit for Audit (Standard) as a key differentiator from Audit (Premium).
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Audit (Standard) retention is fixed at 90 days for most workloads, but certain high-value events (e.g., Exchange Online mailbox actions) may have shorter retention. For longer retention (up to 10 years), organizations must license Audit (Premium) or use a third-party SIEM. The 90-day count starts from the event timestamp, not the discovery date, so logs for events older than 90 days are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.
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 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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SC-900 question test?
Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions — This question tests Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Audit log retention is limited to 90 days for Audit (Standard) — Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) retains audit logs for only 90 days by default. Since the data breach occurred 120 days ago, the logs would have been automatically purged after the retention period expired, making them unavailable for investigation.
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.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This SC-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SC-900 exam.
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