Navigating the SC-200 Exam: Your Comprehensive Guide

Introduction:

Gearing up for the SC-200 exam? Microsoft’s SC-200 exam, also known as the Security Operations Analyst certification, is designed to validate your skills in managing security alerts, responding to threats, and implementing security solutions in Azure. This post is to help you study for this challenging exam with useful links to knowledge articles on each topic.

Identifying Security Threats

Identifying and assessing security threats. Understanding common attack vectors, threat intelligence, and the role of Microsoft Defender for Identity.

• Common threats and mitigation strategies: Learn about common threats like phishing, ransomware, and insider threats, along with mitigation strategies.
  Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (formerly Windows Defender ATP)

  Microsoft Defender for Endpoint | Microsoft Learn

• Microsoft Defender for Identity: Get an in-depth understanding of how Microsoft Defender for Identity can help you detect and investigate security threats.
  What is Microsoft Defender for Identity? – Microsoft Defender for Identity | Microsoft Learn

Responding to Security Incidents

Explore processes and tools required to respond effectively to security incidents.

• Incident response best practices: Familiarize yourself with incident response best practices, including the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

  https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework

• Microsoft Sentinel for incident response: Learn how to use Azure Sentinel for incident detection, investigation, and response.

  Microsoft Sentinel documentation | Microsoft Learn

• Hunt for threats across devices, emails, apps, and identities

  Hunt for threats across devices, emails, apps, and identities with advanced hunting | Microsoft Learn

• Work with advanced hunting query results in Microsoft 365 Defender

  Work with advanced hunting query results in Microsoft 365 Defender | Microsoft Learn

• Investigate incidents in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

  Investigate incidents in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint | Microsoft Learn

• Learning KQL

  Azure Data Explorer KQL cheat sheets – Microsoft Community Hub

• Keyword Query Language (Cheat Sheet)

  Keyword Query Language (KQL) syntax reference | Microsoft Learn

Implementing Security Solutions

Implementing security solutions in Microsoft Defender for Cloud, and Microsoft Entra ID:

• Microsoft Defender for Cloud (formerly Azure Security Center) Understand how Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides unified security management and advanced threat protection across hybrid cloud workloads.

  Microsoft Defender for Cloud documentation – Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Learn

• Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory Azure AD): Explore Entra ID’s capabilities for identity and access management.

  Microsoft Entra ID documentation – Microsoft Entra | Microsoft Learn

• Safe Attachments policies in Microsoft Defender for Office 365.

  Safe Attachments | Microsoft Learn

  Remember – Dynamic Delivery delivers messages immediately, and replaces attachments with placeholders while scanning completes.

• Defender for Identity entity tags in Microsoft 365 Defender

  Entity tags in Microsoft Defender for Identity – Microsoft Defender for Identity | Microsoft Learn

• Create indicators for files

  Create indicators for files | Microsoft Learn

• Connect your GCP project – Microsoft Defender for Cloud & Defend your GCP resources by using Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

  Connect your GCP project – Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Learn

• Understand just-in-time virtual machine access – Microsoft Defender for Cloud

  Understand just-in-time virtual machine access – Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Learn

• Configure alert notifications in Microsoft 365 Defender. Use Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to configure email notification settings for security alerts, based on severity and other criteria.

  Configure alert notifications in Microsoft 365 Defender | Microsoft Learn

Monitoring and Managing Security Operations

Ongoing monitoring and management of security operations.

• Security information and event management (SIEM): Learn about SIEM solutions and how they contribute to security monitoring.

  What is Microsoft Sentinel? | Microsoft Learn

• Security orchestration and automation: Discover the benefits of security orchestration and automation in managing security operations.

  Microsoft Sentinel – Cloud SIEM Solution | Microsoft Security

• Manage portal access using role-based access control

  Use role-based access control to grant fine-grained access to Microsoft 365 Defender portal | Microsoft Learn

• Using role-based access control (RBAC)

  Manage access – Training | Microsoft Learn

• “DNS information model is used to describe events reported by a DNS server or a DNS security system, and is used by Microsoft Sentinel to enable source-agnostic analytics.”

  The Advanced Security Information Model (ASIM) DNS normalization schema reference (Public preview) | Microsoft Learn

Compliance and Governance

Addresses compliance requirements and governance in a security context.

• Azure Policy and Blueprints: Explore Azure Policy and Blueprints for enforcing organizational compliance.

  Azure governance documentation | Microsoft Learn

• Microsoft Compliance Manager: Learn how to use Microsoft Compliance Manager to assess and manage compliance.

  Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager | Microsoft Learn

Preparing for the SC-200 Exam

As you prepare for the SC-200 exam, make sure to take advantage of Microsoft’s official study resources and practice tests:

• Microsoft Learn – SC-200 Exam Preparation: Access Microsoft’s official learning path for the SC-200 exam.

  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/certifications/exams/sc-200

• Microsoft Learn – SC-200 Practice Tests: Test your knowledge with official practice tests from Microsoft.

  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/certifications/exams/sc-200#practice-tests