SC-900

Preparation Guide on SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Exam

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Are you planning to take the SC-900 exam? If it is yes, then this will be your right guidance to get well prepared for the exam.

Taking SC-900 Certification can help to become familiar with the foundations of Security, Compliance, and Identity (SCI) across cloud-based and Microsoft related services . And also it helps to validate the user’s ability to implement, monitor, and troubleshoot Azure security technologies. 

This blog can walkthrough SC-900 exam objectives, deliverables of SC-900 exam,target audience of SC-900 exam, syllabus, exam resources and preparation tips etc. 

All about SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Exam

SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Certification is fundamental level certification and it targets mainly IT professionals who wish to understand the SCI (security, compliance and identity) concepts related to cloud services, specializing in Microsoft’s services. 

SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Certification requires the candidate to have certain experience in the following roles such as IT professionals, industry aspirants and business stakeholders.

What are the skills you will gain from the SC-900 certification?

By taking the SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Certification exam, the candidate can be able to possess the skills and knowledge on the following topics such as:

  • Concepts of security, compliance, and identity: This module includes questions on a variety of security topics, including the Zero-Trust technique, which is a shared responsibility paradigm between cloud service providers and clients. Other security concepts cover things like cloud adoption framework, defense in depth, common security threats, and encryption. This domain also includes a number of identity concepts, including Active Directory, federated services, common identity attacks, authentication, identity providers, and authorisation.
  • Capabilities of Microsoft Azure Active Directory: Four essential Azure AD functions are covered by this domain. Essential identity services, such as Azure Active Dictionary, hybrid identities, multiple Azure AD identities, and various external identities, make up the initial AD capability. As the second AD capability, authentication. It addresses issues including various forms of authentication, SSPR, MFA (multi-factor authentication), secure password management, and Windows Hello for Business. The third crucial task is access control. It addresses subjects like roles linked to Azure AD and Access Control. The final AD capability focuses on identity governance and protection. It addresses subjects including identity governance, PIM, Azure AD Identity Protection, and access reviews.
  • Capabilities of Microsoft Security solution :  The security features of Microsoft Azure, such as Azure DDoS protection, Azure Network Security, Azure Firewall, Web Application Firewall, Azure Bastion, Azure Security Centre, Azure Encryption, Azure Sentinel, Microsoft Intune, and Microsoft 365 Defender, are covered in this module.
  • Capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions: The capabilities of Microsoft Compliance Solutions are discussed in this section. It contains the capabilities and solutions offered by the Service Trust Portal, Compliance Manager, Compliance Center, and Compliance Score of Microsoft. Content and activity explorer, data classification, retention labels and policies, sensitivity labels, data loss prevention, and records management are some of the skills connected to information governance and protection. 

Who should take the  SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals exam?

The SC-900 is a fundamental level exam and it doesn’t need as many requirements. This includes, but not limited to:

  • Business stakeholders
  • Secondly, new or existing IT professionals
  • Lastly, students with an interest in Microsoft security, compliance, and identity management technologies.
  • Cybersecurity professionals
  • Compliance professionals
  • IT managers
  • IT security professionals
  • Cloud administrators
  • Configuration managers

Why to take the SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals exam?

Here are the top reasons on why to opt for the SC-900:Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals exam:

Greater job opportunities

It has been found that Microsoft-certified applicants have a higher chance of employment or promotion. As SC-900 certification is often preferred by HR managers, and thus they no need to prove the range of their skills and knowledge furthermore.

Collaboration with security experts

By taking the SC-900 exam, you will learn on how to collaborate with security solutions architects and security operations analysts in maintaining the security posture of an organization. 

More job opportunities 

Obtaining Microsoft certification like SC-900 provides a key that unlocks the door to a higher level of employment options and highly paid jobs.

What will you learn from the SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Certification exam?

SC-900 is an entry-level cybersecurity exam that specifically addresses how Microsoft Windows and its products use security, compliance and identity in order to protect users. 

You can become familiar with core concepts that are foundational to security, compliance, and identity solutions, including shared responsibility, Zero Trust, data residency, role of identity providers, and more. And you can know more about authentication and authorization concepts and why identity is important in securing corporate resources.

Prep guide - sc-900

And also you can get to know the following concepts such as SCI, the capabilities of Microsoft security tools and solutions, and how compliance solutions work in the Microsoft ecosystem.

What are the prerequisites of the SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals certification exam

There are no prerequisites for the SC-900 certification exam, even though before starting the SC-900 certification exam, you should have prior knowledge before appearing for this exam includes:

  • Must have a general understanding of the concepts around cloud computing and networking.
  • Must have a basic knowledge of the industry or any experience in a technology environment.
  • Must be familiar with the basics of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure.

Exam format for SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Certification

SC-900

Exam Domain for SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Certification

The following are the domains that are covered in  SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Certification and they are:

Domain Weightage
Describing the concepts of security, compliance, and identity 10-15%
Describing the capabilities of Microsoft Azure Active Directory 25-30%
Describing the capabilities of Microsoft Security solutions 25-30%
Describing the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions 25-30%

Describing the concepts of security, compliance, and identity (10–15%) 

Describe security and compliance concepts 

  • Describe the shared responsibility model
  • Describe defense in depth
  • Describe the Zero-Trust model
  • Describe encryption and hashing
  • Describe compliance concepts 

Describing the capabilities of Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), part of Microsoft Entra (25–30%) 

Describing the basic identity services and identity types of Azure AD

  • Defining Azure AD
  • Defining Azure AD identities
  • Defining hybrid identity 
  • Defining the different external identity types

Describing the authentication capabilities of Azure AD

  • Defining the authentication methods available in Azure AD
  • Defining Multi-factor Authentication
  • Defining self-service password reset 
  • Defining password protection and management capabilities available in Azure AD

Describing access management capabilities of Azure AD

  •  Defining conditional access 
  • Defining the benefits of Azure AD roles
  • Defining the benefits of Azure AD role-based access control 

Describing the identity protection and governance capabilities of Azure AD

  • Defining identity governance in Azure AD
  • Defining entitlement management and access reviews
  •  Defining the capabilities of Azure AD Privileged Identity Management (PIM) 

Describing Azure AD Identity Protection Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Security solutions (25–30%)

Defining basic security capabilities in Azure

  • Defining Azure DDoS protection
  • Defining Azure Firewall 
  • Defining Web Application Firewall
  • Defining Network Segmentation with Azure Virtual Networks 
  • Defining Azure Network Security groups 
  • Defining Azure Bastion and JIT Access 
  •  Defining ways Azure encrypts data 

Defining security management capabilities of Azure

  •  Defining Cloud security posture management (CSPM) 
  •  Defining Microsoft Defender for Cloud 
  • Defining the enhanced security features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud 
  • Defining security baselines for Azure

 Defining security capabilities of Microsoft Sentinel 

  •  Defining the concepts of SIEM and SOAR
  •  Defining how Microsoft Sentinel provides integrated threat management

 Defining threat protection with Microsoft 365 Defender 

  •  Defining Microsoft 365 Defender services  
  • Describe Microsoft Defender for Office 365  
  • Describe Microsoft Defender for Endpoint 
  •  Describe Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps  
  • Describe Microsoft Defender for Identity 
  • Describe the Microsoft 365 Defender portal 

Describing the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions (25–30%) 

Describing Microsoft’s Service Trust Portal and privacy principles 

  •  Defining the offerings of the Service Trust portal 
  •  Defining Microsoft’s privacy principles 

Describing the compliance management capabilities of Microsoft Purview 

  •  Defining the Microsoft Purview compliance portal 
  • Defining compliance manager 
  • Defining the usage and benefits of compliance score

Describing information protection and data lifecycle management capabilities of Microsoft Purview 

  •  Defining data classification capabilities 
  •  Defining the uses of content explorer and activity explorer 
  •  Defining sensitivity labels 
  •  Defining Data Loss Prevention (DLP) 
  • Defining Records Management 
  • Defining Retention Policies and Retention Labels 

Describe insider risk capabilities in Microsoft Purview 

  • Defining Insider Risk Management 
  • Defining communication compliance 
  • Defining information barriers 

Describing resource governance capabilities in Azure 

  • Describe Azure Policy 
  • Describe Azure Blueprints 
  •  Describe the Microsoft Purview unified data governance solution

Preparation tips for the SC-900 certification exam

Utilizing top-notch study materials can help you to get a thorough understanding of the subjects included on the exam is the most effective method to achieve success. When it comes to study materials, there are a few options to choose from, but not all of them are equal. To help you prepare for the MS-900 exam, I have put together a collection of the top study guides.

If you are new to Microsoft certifications, your SC-900 study guide‘s initial focus should be on Microsoft learning path, which includes:

  • Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity
  • Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), part of Microsoft Entra
  • Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Security solutions 
  • Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions

Second, Microsoft’s instructor-led video training course SC-900T00: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals can help to sharpen foundational level knowledge on security, compliance, and identity concepts and cloud-based Microsoft solutions.. It is a one-day-long video course elaborating on security and compliance concepts, identity concepts, Azure Active Directory and so on.Each of the numerous modules covers a separate subject that you must be familiar with for the exam.

Third, Microsoft Learn is a free, interactive, and self-paced learning platform that can help you prepare for the SC-900 exam. It can help you go through different topics in Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365, providing knowledge checks along the way to ensure you are retaining the information. We do not offer SC-900 dumps or questions from actual exams. 

Also Read: Free questions on SC-900 exam Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals

In addition to Microsoft Learn, we also recommend using the following resources to prepare for the SC-900 exam:

1. Practice tests : In order to assess your readiness for the SC-900 exam, you must utilize practice exams to the fullest.

Practice exams boost applicants’ confidence by using formats that are comparable to those of the real exam. Candidates can become accustomed to the exam structure by regularly taking practice tests for the SC-900 exam.

They can also demonstrate how the students do across the exam’s many topics. As a result, taking practice exams is always vital to polish your preparations.

2. Books : Some of the books  are recommended to get detailed insights about the SC-900 exam concepts such as:

Sample Questions

Q: Your organization, Whizlabs, has been searching for a Security Information and Event Management tool to help improve its security posture and incident response ability. It has decided to utilize Azure Sentinel. Which of the security functions below will Azure Sentinel provide. Select 4 choices.

  1. Use Machine Learning to Predict And Prevent Attacks
  2. Detect Previously Undetected Threats
  3. Respond to Incidents Rapidly
  4. Log and Reference Events
  5. Collect Data at Cloud Scale
  6. Investigate Threats with Artificial Intelligence

Correct Answer: B, C, E, F

Explanation: The SIEM and SOAR functionalities of Azure Sentinel provide you with the ability to Collect Data at Cloud Scale, Detect Previously Undetected Threats, Investigate Threats with Artificial Intelligence, and Respond to Incident Rapidly. 

Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/sentinel/overview

Domain: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions

Q: Which of the following is a prerequisite for onboarding Azure Sentinel into your environment?

  1. SQL Database for data storage
  2. Azure Storage Account with Blob Container
  3. Log Analytics Workspace
  4. CosmosDB instance

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: Deploying a log analytics workspace is a prerequisite for deploying Azure Sentinel. Log Analytics Workspace is used for storing logs from the various data connectors that you integrate to provide threat analysis.

SQL Database, CosmosDB, or an Azure Storage Account with blob containers are not needed to successfully deploy Azure Sentinel into your environment. 

Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/sentinel/quickstart-onboard

Domain: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions

Q: Which of the following is a component of the Cloud App Security Framework?

  1. Entitlement Management to Provide Access Packages
  2. Multi-Factor Authentication
  3. Regulatory Compliance to ensure Regulatory Standards
  4. Control and Discover the Use of Shadow IT

Correct Answer: D

Answer A is incorrect as Entitlement Management is a feature of Identity Governance that is used for controlling access to resources using lifecycles and access workflows.

Answer B is incorrect as Multi-Factor Authentication is a security feature that requires the use of at least two security mechanisms to confirm your identity. Usually it involves something you know, such as a password, something you have, such as a security token, or something you are, such as a biometric. 

Answer C is incorrect as Regulatory Compliance is a feature of Azure Security Center that helps your organization evaluate its resources against pre-defined or customer initiatives. Initiatives are a collection of Azure Policies. By default the Azure Security Benchmark is enabled.

Answer D is correct as Control and Discover the Use of Shadow IT is part of the Cloud App Security Framework that focuses on identifying the use of Cloud Apps, IaaS, and PaaS services in your organization. 

Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-app-security/what-is-cloud-app-security

Domain: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Identity and Access Management Solutions

Q: As the Cloud Admin for your organization, you have been tasked to block all access requests that originate from outside of your home country. In addition, you need to require Multi-factor authentication for any requests that originate outside of your corporate network. What Azure AD feature can be used to accomplish this? 

  1. Conditional Access Policies
  2. Privileged Identity Management
  3. Active Directory Connect
  4. Identity Protection

Correct Answer: A

Answer A is correct as Conditional Access Policies are simple IF THEN statements that evaluate signals such as a user device, user location, and real time risk to determine if access should be blocked, granted with additional requirements, or just granted.

Answer B is incorrect as Privileged Identity Management is a feature of Azure Active Directory that provides time-based and approval-based role activation. It would not be used to prevent users from accessing resources from a specific country. This would not meet your requirements.

Answer C is incorrect as Active Directory Connect is a tool that is used to sync identity information from an on-premise Identity store such as Active Directory Domain Services to Azure Active Directory. This would not meet your requirements.

Answer D is incorrect as Identity Protection is an Azure Active Directory features that enables the ability to detect, investigate, and remediate risks to your users identities, such as exposed passwords or compromised accounts. This would not meet your requirements. 

Source: 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/conditional-access/overview

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/conditional-access/location-condition

Domain: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Identity and Access Management Solutions 

Q: What Azure service is used to store identify information for users, groups, and applications?

  1. Security Center
  2. Azure Active Directory
  3. Azure Active Directory Domain Services
  4. Azure Sentinel

Correct Answer: B

Answer A is incorrect because Security Center is a infrastructure management system that helps you to improve your security posture by providing recommendations and alerts for security events. Users and Groups are not stored within Security Center

Answer B is correct because Azure Active Directory  is the primary Identity store that is used for Azure and Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Azure AD stores information for users and groups that are created locally in the Azure AD tenant or synced from a Active Directory Domain Services directory.

Answer C is incorrect because Azure Active Directory Domain Services provides you with a managed domain in the cloud. This service is used to provide features such as LDAP and support for legacy authentication protocols such as Kerberos and NTLM

Answer D is incorrect because Azure Sentinel is a Security Incident and Event Management System as well as a Security Orchestration and Automated Response tool. This service is used to ingest logs from multiple sources and run threat analytics against those sources to help identify, notify, and respond to security incidents.

Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/fundamentals/active-directory-whatis

What jobs can you get with SC 900 certification?

After passing the SC-900 test, the candidate can take higher-level certifications and can be able to work in the following roles such as:

  • Information security Engineer/Analyst
  • Computer system Engineer
  • System administrator
  • Computer support specialist

And also, greater work chances and promotions can be obtained by getting Microsoft credentials.

FAQs

Q: Why should I go for SC-900:Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Exam?

A: The top reasons to go for Azure Certifications are:

  • Flexibility and development in Career.
  • High Salary Package.
  • Improves your technical skills on the Azure Cloud platform.
  • Top-paying info-Tech certifications in the world.
  • Adds a credential to your resume.

Q: Can I get a job with Azure 900 certification?

A: By passing the SC-900 exam, you can get jobs in the following roles such as Information security, Security operations and Identity & access management sectors.

Q: What are the skills measured in SC-900:Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Exam?

A: Here are few abilities which are measured with SC-900 exam and certification 

  • Concepts of security, compliance, and identity
  • Capabilities of Microsoft identity and access management solutions
  • Capabilities of Microsoft security solutions
  • Capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions

Q: Can a fresher take the SC-900:Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Exam?

A: Yes, you should understand the basic fundamentals of Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365. Also a basic understanding of how Microsoft security, compliance, and identity solutions function across different solution areas to provide a holistic and end-to-end solution.

Summary

I think this blog provides complete details on how to prepare for the SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Exam and adhering to above preparation tips can definitely help to ace the challenges faced in the exam.

It is always essential to rely on reliable and authentic study resources while preparing for exams. 

And thus, Whizlab offers a wide range of practice exams, hands-on labs and sandboxes for the SC-900 certification exam curated by field experts and working professionals. By utilizing those kinds of study materials, you can be able to obtain knowledge of security concepts and best practices that are required for passing the SC-900 exam.

If you have any queries, please feel free to comment us!

About Vasanth Rajan

Vasantharajan Shanmugam is a highly experienced Technical Manager with over 18 years of industry experience. He has a well-rounded skill set that encompasses development, support, business analysis, and team management. With oversight of infrastructure and product development, he can make the chosen platform to operate at scale while advancing new products and technology via innovation.
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