SC-900 Exam Preparation Guide Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate! The Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate is designed to help individuals launch a career in the rapidly growing field of cybersecurity.
It focuses on providing job-ready skills, particularly those involving AI, to prepare learners for the evolving demands of cybersecurity roles. Preparing for the Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate involves mastering various cybersecurity topics, including foundational principles, hands-on skills, and exam-specific content like the Microsoft SC-900 certification.
The Microsoft SC-900 exam, called Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals, checks your understanding of basic cybersecurity ideas and Microsoft’s security tools. It’s a great starting point for people new to cybersecurity, and the exam mainly covers the basic knowledge you need to get familiar with security and identity concepts.
This post will provide an in-depth Exam Preparation Guide for the Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate. It focuses on the key components you need to master to pass the exam and earn the certification successfully.
Table of Contents
What is the SC-900 Exam?
The SC-900 exam, officially known as the Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals exam, is an entry-level certification designed to validate your understanding of foundational concepts related to security, compliance, identity, etc.
How Much Does the SC-900 Exam Cost?
The exam voucher for the SC-900 exam costs USD 99.
What Languages Is the SC-900 Exam Available In?
The SC-900 exam is in English, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese.
What is the Format of the SC-900 Exam?
The SC-900 exam consists of multiple-choice and multiple-answer questions.
How Do I Mark an Answer as Accepted on this Platform?
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Why should I Mark an Answer as Accepted?
Marking an answer as accepted helps other users know which response successfully addressed the question, making it easier for them to find helpful information.
How can I Ensure my Answers are Practical on this Platform?
When providing answers, ensure they are Clear, Helpful and well formatted.
1. Clear and Concise – Directly address the question with relevant information.
2. Helpful – Provide detailed steps, explanations, or solutions.
3. Well-Formatted – Use Markdown to structure your answer for better readability.
SC-900 Exam Preparation Guide Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate
Cybersecurity keeps systems, networks, devices, and data safe from online attacks, theft, or damage. It uses tools, methods, and best practices to protect important information and critical systems from threats like viruses, phishing scams, ransomware, and hackers.
- The goal is to prevent unauthorized access and ensure that data remains secure and systems work correctly.
Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect Certification Details SC-100
As a Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect, you play a crucial role in converting cybersecurity strategies into practical measures that protect an organization’s assets, business processes, and operations. Your responsibilities include designing, overseeing, implementing, and maintaining security solutions that align with Zero Trust principles and best practices.
Your expertise covers many areas, including security strategies for identity management, devices, data, artificial intelligence, applications, networks, infrastructure, and DevOps. Furthermore, you will develop solutions for Governance and Risk Compliance (GRC), security operations, and managing security posture.
Key Responsibilities
Collaborate with leaders and practitioners in security, privacy, engineering, and other roles to plan and implement a cybersecurity strategy that meets organizational business needs. Continuously assess and enhance security measures per evolving threats and best practices.
Candidate Profile
As a candidate for the SC-100 exam, you should have experience implementing or administering solutions in the following areas. You should possess expert skills in at least one of these areas and have experience designing security solutions incorporating Microsoft security technologies.
- Identity and Access Management
- Platform Protection
- Security Operations
- Data and AI Security
- Application Security
- Hybrid and Multicloud Infrastructures
- You should possess expert skills in at least one of these areas and have experience designing security solutions incorporating Microsoft security technologies.
Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate SC-900
The Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst program offered through Coursera includes the following courses. These courses provide a comprehensive foundation in cybersecurity principles and practices, equipping learners with the skills necessary to excel in the field.
- Microsoft SC-900 Exam Preparation and Practice
- Advanced Cybersecurity Concepts and Capstone Project
- Introduction to Networking and Cloud Computing
- Cybersecurity Threat Vectors and Mitigation
- Cybersecurity Tools and Technologies
- Introduction to Computers, Operating Systems, and Security
- Cybersecurity Solutions with Microsoft Defender
- Cybersecurity Management and Compliance
- Identity and Access Management Solutions using Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)
- These courses provide a comprehensive foundation in cybersecurity principles and practices, equipping learners with the skills necessary to excel in the field.
You will get the following by enrolling in the Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate.
- Understand the cybersecurity landscape and learn the concepts of critical security, compliance, and identity solutions.
- Identify vulnerabilities in an organization’s network and learn how to protect data by mitigating attacks on network infrastructure.
- Develop and implement strategies to reduce threats by applying effective cybersecurity practices within Azure.
- Showcase your skills through a capstone project and prepare for the Microsoft SC-900 Certification exam, which is recognized in the industry.
Study Guide for Exam SC-200 Microsoft Security Operations Analyst
The study guide for Exam SC-200: Microsoft Security Operations Analyst covers essential skills needed to mitigate cybersecurity threats and manage security operations. It focuses on managing a security operations environment, configuring protections and detections, responding to security incidents, and managing security threats across cloud and on-premises environments.
| Skill Area | Task |
|---|---|
| Manage a Security Operations Environment | (20–25%) |
| Configure settings in Microsoft Defender XDR | Configure alert and vulnerability notification rules. |
| Configure Microsoft Defender for Endpoint advanced features. | |
| Configure endpoint rules settings. | |
| Manage automated investigation and response capabilities. | |
| Configure automatic attack disruption in Microsoft Defender XDR. | |
| Manage Assets and Environments | Configure and manage device groups, permissions, and automation levels in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. |
| Identify unmanaged devices in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. | |
| Discover unprotected resources by using Microsoft Defender for Cloud. | |
| Identify and remediate devices at risk by using Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management. | |
| Mitigate risk by using Exposure Management in Microsoft Defender XDR. | |
| Design and Configure a Microsoft Sentinel Workspace | Plan a Microsoft Sentinel workspace. |
| Configure Microsoft Sentinel roles. | |
| Specify Azure RBAC roles for Microsoft Sentinel configuration. | |
| Design and configure Microsoft Sentinel data storage, including log types and log retention. | |
| Ingest Data Sources in Microsoft Sentinel | Identify data sources to be ingested for Microsoft Sentinel. |
| Implement and use Content hub solutions. | |
| Configure and use Microsoft connectors for Azure resources, including Azure Policy and diagnostic settings. | |
| Plan and configure Syslog and CEF event collections. | |
| Plan and configure collection of Windows Security events by using data collection rules, including Windows Event Forwarding (WEF). | |
| Create custom log tables in the workspace to store ingested data. | |
| Monitor and optimize data ingestion. |
Configure Protections and Detections
Configuring protections and detections is crucial for maintaining a secure environment. In Microsoft Defender security technologies, protections safeguard devices, networks, and identities from various threats through features like antivirus, firewall, and vulnerability management.
| Configure Protections and Detections | (15–20%) |
|---|---|
| Configure protections in Microsoft Defender security technologies | Configure policies for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. |
| Configure policies for Microsoft Defender for Office 365. | |
| Configure security policies for Microsoft Defender for Endpoints, including attack surface reduction (ASR) rules. | |
| Configure cloud workload protections in Microsoft Defender for Cloud. | |
| Configure Detections in Microsoft Defender XDR | Configure and manage custom detection rules. |
| Manage alerts, including tuning, suppression, and correlation. | |
| Configure deception rules in Microsoft Defender XDR. | |
| Configure Detections in Microsoft Sentinel | Classify and analyze data by using entities. |
| Configure and manage analytics rules. | |
| Query Microsoft Sentinel data by using ASIM parsers. | |
| Implement behavioral analytics. |
Manage Incident Response
Managing incident response involves effectively responding to security threats and alerts across various platforms. In the Microsoft Defender portal, teams can respond to alerts and incidents by analyzing threats and taking appropriate actions such as mitigation or remediation.
Manage Security Threats
Manage Security Threats, including Microsoft Defender XDR, Hunting for Threats Using Microsoft Sentinel, and Creating and Configuring Microsoft Sentinel Workbooks. The table below provides more details.
| Manage Security Threats | (15–20%) |
|---|---|
| Hunt for threats by using Microsoft Defender XDR | Identify threats by using Kusto Query Language (KQL). |
| Interpret threat analytics in the Microsoft Defender portal. | |
| Hunt for Threats Using Microsoft Sentinel | Analyze attack vector coverage by using the MITRE ATT&CK matrix. |
| Manage and use threat indicators. | |
| Create and manage hunts. | |
| Create and monitor hunting queries. | |
| Create and Configure Microsoft Sentinel Workbooks | Activate and customize workbook templates. |
| Create custom workbooks that include KQL. | |
| Configure visualizations. |
Study Guide for Exam SC-100 Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect
The study guide for Exam SC-100: Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect focuses on the skills required to design and implement comprehensive security strategies for an organization. It emphasizes creating security solutions that follow Zero Trust principles and best practices across various domains, including identity, data, applications, networks, infrastructure, and DevOps.
| Skill Area | Task |
|---|---|
| Design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities | (20–25%) |
| Design a resiliency strategy for ransomware and other attacks based on Microsoft Security Best Practices | Design a security strategy to support business resiliency goals, including identifying and prioritizing threats to business-critical assets. Design solutions for business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR), including secure backup and restore for hybrid and multicloud environments. Design solutions for mitigating ransomware attacks, including prioritization of BCDR and privileged access Evaluate solutions for security updates. |
| Design solutions that align with the Microsoft Cybersecurity Reference Architectures (MCRA) and Microsoft cloud security benchmark (MCSB) | Design solutions that align with best practices for cybersecurity capabilities and controls. Design solutions that align with best practices for protecting against insider, external, and supply chain attacks. Design solutions that align with best practices for Zero Trust security, including the Zero Trust Rapid Modernization Plan (RaMP). |
| Design solutions that align with the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure and the Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework | Design a new or evaluate an existing strategy for security and governance based on the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) for Azure and the Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework. Recommend solutions for security and governance based on the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure and the Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework. Design solutions for implementing and governing security by using Azure landing zones. Design a DevSecOps process that aligns with best practices in the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF). |
Design Security Operations Identity and Compliance Capabilities
The details of the design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities are shown in the table below.
Design Security Solutions for Infrastructure
Designing security solutions for infrastructure includes critical aspects like managing security in hybrid and multicloud environments and securing both server and client endpoints.
Design Security Solutions for Applications and Data
The Design security solutions for applications and data sessions covered the following details.
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Author
Anoop C Nair has been Microsoft MVP from 2015 onwards for 10 consecutive years! He is a Workplace Solution Architect with more than 22+ years of experience in Workplace technologies. He is also a Blogger, Speaker, and Local User Group Community leader. His primary focus is on Device Management technologies like SCCM and Intune. He writes about technologies like Intune, SCCM, Windows, Cloud PC, Windows, Entra, Microsoft Security, Career, etc.