SC900 Study Cram V2 Lecture Notes

Overview

• SC900: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Exam
  • Rapid-fire questions
  • Focus on understanding and matching solutions to organizational requirements
  • Requires broad understanding, not deep technical knowledge

Exam Preparation

• Best Resource: SC900 Fundamentals webpage
  • Free online course
  • Practice assessments and sandbox environment
  • Exam policy and scheduling details
  • Study guide with core skill updates

Key Areas of Focus

Shared Responsibility Model

• On-premises: Customer responsibility
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):
  • Customer: Operating system up
  • Provider: Physical infrastructure
• Platform as a Service (PaaS):
  • Customer: Data and identity management
  • Provider: Operating system and hosts
• Software as a Service (SaaS):
  • Customer: Identities, minimal shared responsibility
  • Provider: Application, network, operating system

Security Concepts

Defense in Depth

• Layers of security:
  • Physical security
  • Identity as a perimeter
  • Network and compute security
  • Application security
  • Data protection

CIA Triad

• Confidentiality: Protecting data privacy
• Integrity: Maintaining data accuracy
• Availability: Ensuring data accessibility

Zero Trust

• Core Principles:
  • Verify explicitly
  • Use least privilege
  • Assume breach

Encryption

• Symmetric: Same key for encryption and decryption
• Asymmetric: Public and private key pair

Governance, Risk, and Compliance

• Governance: Rules and practices for activities
• Risk: Identifying and responding to threats
• Compliance: Adhering to regulations and standards

Identity Management

Types of Identity

• Users, applications, devices, and other resources

Key Pillars

• Administration: Basic management
• Authentication: Proving identity
• Authorization: Access levels
• Audit: Actions taken

Authentication Methods

• Password-only vs. Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
• Passwordless: Using methods like passkeys

Conditional Access and Role-Based Access Control

• Set access conditions based on risk, location, device health
• Assign roles with minimum necessary permissions

Microsoft Solutions

Azure Security Solutions

• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Protection
• Azure Firewall: Layer 4 and 7 protection
• Web Application Firewall (WAF): Protects against common exploits
• Network Security Groups (NSGs): Segment and control traffic
• Azure Bastion: Secure RDP/SSH access

Defender for Cloud

• Cloud Security Posture Management: Assessment and scoring
• Cloud Workload Protection: Specific resource protection
• DevSecOps: Integrating security into DevOps

Sentinel

• Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM)
• Security Orchestration Automated Response (SOAR): Automating reactions

Defender XDR

• Cross-platform protection and threat intelligence

Purview

• Governance and Compliance: Managing data security
• Data Security: Classifying and protecting data

Priva

• Managing private data and subject rights requests

Exam Strategy

• Focus on understanding core concepts and solutions
• Use the Microsoft Learn platform extensively
• Eliminate obviously wrong answers in the exam
• Review weaker sections based on exam results for improvement

Conclusion

• Understand the broad capabilities and applications of various Microsoft solutions
• Aim for a strong foundational understanding to succeed in the exam
• Good luck with your exam preparation!