SC-900 Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra Practice Question
Which TWO Microsoft Entra features can help protect against credential attacks?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse self-service password reset (SSPR) with a security feature that prevents attacks, when in reality SSPR is a convenience feature for password recovery, not a proactive defense against credential threats.
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
✓
Microsoft Entra password protection
Microsoft Entra password protection (C) helps defend against credential attacks by automatically blocking weak passwords and common variations of known compromised passwords, such as those from botnets or public password lists. Smart lockout (E) protects against brute-force attacks by locking an account after a configurable number of failed sign-in attempts, using intelligent heuristics to distinguish between legitimate users and attackers. Both features directly mitigate password-based attacks like password spraying and brute force.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Microsoft Entra Connect
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft Entra Connect is primarily an identity synchronization tool that bridges on-premises Active Directory with Microsoft Entra ID. While it ensures consistent identity data across hybrid environments, it does not inherently provide real-time protection against credential-based attacks like brute-force or password spray attempts. Its core function is to facilitate identity management and single sign-on, not to actively block malicious login activities.
- ✗
Self-service password reset
Why it's wrong here
Self-service password reset (SSPR) empowers users to reset their forgotten or locked passwords without administrator intervention. This feature significantly improves user productivity and reduces help desk calls but does not prevent an attacker from attempting to guess a user's password or launch a credential stuffing attack. SSPR is a recovery mechanism, not a preventative security control against initial attack vectors.
- ✓
Microsoft Entra password protection
Why this is correct
Microsoft Entra password protection actively safeguards user accounts by preventing the use of weak, easily guessable, or commonly compromised passwords. It enforces strong password policies by blocking known bad passwords globally and allows organizations to define custom banned password lists. This feature directly mitigates password spray and brute-force attacks by ensuring that even if an attacker attempts a common password, it will be rejected.
- ✗
Access reviews
Why it's wrong here
Access reviews are a governance feature within Microsoft Entra ID that enables organizations to periodically review who has access to specific resources and applications. While crucial for maintaining the principle of least privilege and ensuring compliance, access reviews do not provide real-time, active protection against ongoing attacks. They are a proactive measure to manage access hygiene, not a dynamic threat prevention mechanism against credential compromise.
- ✓
Smart lockout
Why this is correct
Microsoft Entra Smart Lockout protects user accounts from brute-force and password spray attacks by intelligently locking out suspicious login attempts. Unlike traditional lockouts, Smart Lockout differentiates between legitimate users mistyping their password and malicious actors, preventing attackers from guessing passwords without locking out the actual user. This feature significantly reduces the success rate of credential-based attacks by making it harder for adversaries to enumerate passwords.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every SC-900 question from scratch — 1,250 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.