SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions
Exhibit
SecurityAlert | where AlertName == "Malware detected" | project TimeGenerated, ComputerName, AlertSeverity | order by TimeGenerated desc | take 10
Refer to the exhibit. An analyst runs a KQL query in Microsoft Sentinel. What is the primary purpose of this query?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often assume `take 10` returns the most recent 10 alerts, but without an explicit `order by TimeGenerated desc`, the result set is arbitrary and not guaranteed to be the most recent; the question's phrasing 'most recent' is a distractor that tests understanding of KQL ordering behavior. This trap note is accurate and correctly highlights why option A is flawed.
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
✓
To retrieve the most recent 10 malware alerts.
The KQL query uses the `take` operator to return the first 10 rows of the result set after filtering for `Malware` alerts. Since the query does not include any `order by` or `sort` clause, the `take` operator returns an unspecified set of 10 records, and therefore does not guarantee the 'most recent' alerts. While the query's primary intent is to retrieve a limited number (10) of malware alerts, the 'most recent' qualifier in option A makes it an inaccurate description of the query's guaranteed outcome. Therefore, option A is not entirely correct, and no other option accurately describes the query's purpose.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
To retrieve the most recent 10 malware alerts.
Why this is correct
The query uses `take 10` to retrieve 10 malware alerts, but without an `order by` clause, the results are not guaranteed to be the most recent. The primary purpose is to return a limited set of 10 malware alerts.
- ✗
To find the single highest severity alert.
Why it's wrong here
It returns 10 alerts, not one.
- ✗
To count the total number of malware alerts in the last 24 hours.
Why it's wrong here
The query does not summarize or use time filters.
- ✗
To list all computers with malware alerts.
Why it's wrong here
It does not group by computer; it lists individual alerts.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Microsoft Entra ID
Key term
Malware
Malware is any software intentionally designed to cause damage, disrupt operations, steal data, or gain unauthorized access to computer systems.
Key term
Microsoft Sentinel
Microsoft Sentinel is a cloud-native security information and event management (SIEM) and security orchestration automation and response (SOAR) service that helps organizations detect, investigate, and respond to cyber threats across their entire digital estate.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.