SC-200 Microsoft Certified Security Operation Analyst Preparation Guide

Microsoft Security Operation Analyst is provided by Microsoft. The Exam SC-200 measures the candidate’s ability to perform technical tasks such as managing and mitigating threats using defender for endpoints , defender for cloud , creating microsoft sentinel and hunting for automatic detection and mitigation of threats using variety of dynamic queries

Introduction

The Microsoft security operations analyst collaborates with organizational stakeholders to secure information technology systems for the organization. Their goal is to reduce organizational risk by rapidly remediating active attacks in the environment, advising on improvements to threat protection practices, and referring violations of organizational policies to appropriate stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include threat management, monitoring, and response by using a variety of security solutions across their environment. The role primarily investigates, responds to, and hunts for threats using Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Microsoft 365 Defender, and third-party security products. Since the security operations analyst consumes the operational output of these tools, they are also a critical stakeholder in the configuration and deployment of these technologies.

Who must take the exam

• Cloud Administrator.
• IT Professional.
• IT Security professional.
• Microsoft Security Administrators
• Network Administrators
• Server Administrators

Prerequisites

• Basic understanding of Microsoft 365
• Fundamental understanding of Microsoft security, compliance, and identity products
• Intermediate understanding of Windows 10
• Familiarity with Azure services, specifically Azure SQL Database and Azure Storage
• Familiarity with Azure virtual machines and virtual networking
• Basic understanding of scripting concepts.

If you are starting your exam preparation already having exposure to Azure Defender, Azure Security Center, Sentinel, Log Analytics, Kusto Query Language and Logic Apps exposure, as well as an understanding of other related Azure services, you are going to be in pretty good shape to fill in the Microsoft 365 Defender gaps and pass the exam. However, you can also easily figure out that the opposite is true – if you’ve only been working with the Microsoft 365 Defender components, there is going to be much study and learning to have a good change at passing on your first attempt.

Exam Details: SC-200

Exam Name                      Microsoft Security Operation Analyst

Exam Code                        SC-200

Exam Duration                 120 minutes

Exam Format                    Multiple Choice and Multi-Response Questions

Exam Type                        Online and Proctored Exam

Number of Questions      40-60

Exam Fee                           $165 USD

Exam Language                English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean

Pass Score                         700 (on a scale of 1-1000)

Exam Medium                   Pearson Vue or Certiport

After successfully passing the SC-200 , the candidate will gain the role of Microsoft Certified: Security Operation Analyst

Topics Covered in the Azure SC-200 Certification

The SC-200 exam includes three major topics, with each focusing on different concepts in Defender for Endpoint and cloud and sentinel . Each domain has a different weightage with a different set of subtopics

Mitigate threats using Microsoft 365 Defender (25-30%)

Detect, investigate, respond, and remediate threats to the productivity environment by using Microsoft Defender for Office 365

• Detect, investigate, respond, and remediate threats to Microsoft Teams, sharepoint, and  onedrive
• Detect, investigate, respond, remediate threats to email by using Defender for Office 365
• Manage data loss prevention policy alerts
• Assess and recommend sensitivity labels
• Assess and recommend insider risk policies

Detect, investigate, respond, and remediate endpoint threats by using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

• Manage data retention, alert notification, and advanced features
• Configure device attack surface reduction rules
• Configure and manage custom detections and alerts
• Respond to incidents and alerts
• Manage automated investigations and remediations
• Assess and recommend endpoint configurations to reduce and remediate vulnerabilities by using the microsoft’s threat and vulnerability management solution.
• Manage microsoft defender for endpoint threat indicators
• Analyze microsoft defender for endpoint threat analytics

Detect, investigate, respond, and remediate identity threats

• Identify and remediate security risks related to sign-in risk policies
• Identify and remediate security risks related to conditional access events
• Identify and remediate security risks related to azure active directory
• Identify and remediate security risks using secure score
• Identify, investigate, and remediate security risks related to privileged identities
• Configure detection alerts in azure ad identity protection
• Identify and remediate security risks related to active directory domain services using microsoft defender for identity

Detect, investigate, respond, and remediate application threats

• Identify, investigate, and remediate security risks by using Microsoft Cloud Application Security (MCAS)
• Configure MCAS to generate alerts and reports to detect threats

Manage cross-domain investigations in Microsoft 365 Defender portal

• Manage incidents across Microsoft 365 Defender products
• Manage actions pending approval across products
• Perform advanced threat hunting

Mitigate threats using Microsoft Defender for Cloud (25-30%)

Design and configure Microsoft Defender for Cloud implementation

• Plan and configure Microsoft Defender for Cloud settings, including selecting target subscriptions and workspace
• Configure Microsoft Defender for Cloud roles
• Configure data retention policies
• Assess and recommend cloud workload protection

Plan and implement the use of data connectors for ingestion of data sources in Microsoft Defender for Cloud

• Identify data sources to be ingested for Microsoft Defender for Cloud
• Configure automated onboarding for Azure resources
• Connect on-premises computers
• Connect AWS cloud resources
• Connect GCP cloud resources
• Configure data collection

Manage Microsoft Defender for Cloud alert rules

• Validate alert configuration
• Setup email notifications
• Create and manage alert suppression rules

Configure automation and remediation

• Configure automated responses in Microsoft Defender for Cloud
• Design and configure playbook workflow automation in Microsoft Defender for Cloud
• Remediate incidents by using Microsoft Defender for Cloud recommendations
• Create an automatic response using an Azure Resource Manager template

Investigate Microsoft Defender for Cloud alerts and incidents

• Describe alert types for Azure workloads
• Manage security alerts
• Manage security incidents
• Analyze Microsoft Defender for Cloud threat intelligence
• Respond to Microsoft Defender Cloud for Key Vault alerts
• Manage user data discovered during an investigation

Mitigate threats using Microsoft Sentinel (40-45%)

Design and configure an Microsoft Sentinel workspace

• Plan an Microsoft Sentinel workspace
• Configure Microsoft Sentinel roles
• Design Microsoft Sentinel data storage
• Configure security settings and access for  Microsoft Sentinel service security

Plan and implement the use of data connectors for ingestion of data sources in Microsoft Sentinel

• Identify data sources to be ingested for Microsoft Sentinel
• Identify the prerequisites for a data connector
• Configure and use Microsoft Sentinel data connectors
• Configure data connectors by using Azure Policy
• Design and configure Syslog and CEF event collections
• Design and Configure Windows Security events collections
• Configure custom threat intelligence connectors
• Create custom logs in Azure Log Analytics to store custom data

Manage Microsoft Sentinel analytics rules

• Design and configure analytics rules
• Create custom analytics rules to detect threats
• Activate microsoft security analytics rules
• Configure connector provided scheduled queries
• Configure custom scheduled queries
• Define incident creation logic

Configure Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) in Microsoft Sentinel

• Create Azure Microsoft Sentinel playbooks
• Configure rules and incidents to trigger playbooks
• Use playbooks to remediate threats
• Use playbooks to manage incidents
• Use playbooks across Microsoft Defender solutions

Manage Microsoft Sentinel Incidents

• Investigate incidents in Microsoft Sentinel
• Triage incidents in Microsoft Sentinel
• Respond to incidents in Microsoft Sentinel
• Investigate multi-workspace incidents
• Identify advanced threats with User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA)

Use Microsoft Sentinel workbooks to analyze and interpret data

• Activate and customize Microsoft Sentinel workbook templates
• Create custom workbooks
• Configure advanced visualizations
• View and analyze Microsoft Sentinel data using workbooks
• Track incident metrics using the security operations efficiency workbook

Hunt for threats using the Microsoft Sentinel portal

• Create custom hunting queries
• Run hunting queries manually
• Monitor hunting queries by using livestream
• Perform advanced hunting with notebooks
• Track query results with bookmarks
• Use hunting bookmarks for data investigations
• Convert a hunting query to an analytical

Candidates could not just start reading every book. They get to cover all topics in the SC-200 exam skills outline. You can get started with your preparations for the SC-200 exam without any difficulties by following the tips mentioned below:

Familiarize with the Exam

Candidates should understand all the topics covered in the exam skills outline for the SC-200 exam. As a result, they could identify suitable learning materials for each topic. This can save them a lot of effort in finding out the relevant resources for supporting their preparations.

Use Microsoft Learning

With a clear idea of all the details about the exam, you can look for moving to the next stage of the SC-200 preparation guide. You need credible learning resources for building a clear foundation for success in qualifying for the exam. Microsoft Learning gives official resources that can help in preparing for SC-200 with reflection on different aspects of Microsoft defender for Endpoint , Defender for Cloud.

The official recommended learning paths for the SC-200  exam on the official certification page give a prolific advantage to all learners. The learning paths are divided into different parts for helping you in flexible learning.

Learning paths recommended for the SC-200 exam can improve your command over the fundamentals of Azure security, Compliance, and identity. With the help of Microsoft learning paths, candidates could discover the perfect start to their SC-200  preparations.

Study Guide Microsoft Official Documents

Go for Official Documentation Only

If you thought Microsoft only has learning paths, you need to think twice. The official Microsoft documentation about information governance  gives the ideal tools for navigating the massive body of knowledge pertaining to the concepts.

The official documentation allows candidates to explore the technical content relevant to their SC-200  study guide. The official Microsoft documentation also allows the flexibility of selecting resources according to roles, topics, products, job roles, and experience level.

Training Courses are Helpful

Candidates preparing for Microsoft Azure SC-200  certification could also get the benefit of competitive advantage in their preparations through training courses. There are various professional certification training providers with a wide array of online courses. It is also essential to look for interactive exercises and engaging demo videos with the training courses to ensure a better quality of learning. Most important of all, choose a training course which allows you some room to breathe. It can be difficult to concentrate on your preparation when you must complete the course within a specific time.

Study Courses Online : Pluralsight

Practice Tests Can Test You – Important!

It is true that practice is the key factor of success in professional certification exams. So, you need to make the most of practice tests for the SC-200 exam for evaluating your preparations. Practice tests feature similar formats to the actual exam and encourage the confidence of candidates. Regular practice with practice tests for the SC-200  exam can help candidates familiarize themselves with the exam format. They can also showcase how the candidates perform in different domains of the exam. Therefore, practice tests are always necessary to add the finishing touch to your preparations.

Practise Exams : Udemy, Whizlabs