Microsoft Security Operations Analyst Associate Study Guide (2026)

Microsoft Security Operations Analyst Associate Study Guide 2026 – Pass on Your First Attempt

This Microsoft Security Operations Analyst Associate study guide covers all exam domains, key concepts, and real exam-style scenarios to help you pass on your first attempt. Learn what topics matter most, avoid common mistakes, and follow a structured plan based on the official exam blueprint.

Edureify AI helps you identify your strengths and weak areas using real exam-style questions, detailed explanations, and domain-level analysis. Get a personalized study plan, track your progress, and focus only on what will improve your Microsoft Security Operations Analyst Associate exam score.

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What should you study for the Microsoft Security Operations Analyst Associate exam?

To pass the Microsoft Security Operations Analyst Associate certification exam, you should focus on:

  • Manage a Security Operations Environment: Covers configuring Microsoft Defender XDR, managing assets and environments, designing Microsoft Sentinel workspaces, and ingesting data sources.
  • Configure Protections and Detections: Covers configuring Microsoft Defender security policies, custom detection rules, analytics rules, and behavioral analytics in Sentinel.
  • Manage Incident Response: Covers responding to alerts and incidents in the Microsoft Defender portal, Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Sentinel, including Security Copilot for investigation.
  • Manage Security Threats: Covers threat hunting using KQL in Defender XDR and Sentinel, MITRE ATT&CK analysis, and workbook visualization.

The exam tests your ability to apply concepts in real scenarios, not just memorize definitions.

Microsoft Security Operations Analyst Associate Exam Syllabus and Topics

The Microsoft Security Operations Analyst Associate exam is divided into 4 domains. Each domain tests specific skills and contributes to your overall score.

Manage a Security Operations Environment

Covers configuring Microsoft Defender XDR, managing assets and environments, designing Microsoft Sentinel workspaces, and ingesting data sources.

23%
Weight
9
Questions
230
Marks

Defender XDR Settings

  • Configuring alert and vulnerability notification rules
  • Defender for Endpoint advanced features
  • Automated investigation and response (AIR) capabilities
  • Automatic attack disruption configuration

Asset and Environment Management

  • Device groups, permissions, and automation levels
  • Identifying unmanaged devices
  • Discovering unprotected resources via Defender for Cloud
  • Risk remediation via Defender Vulnerability Management
  • Exposure Management in Defender XDR

Sentinel Design and Configuration

  • Planning a Microsoft Sentinel workspace
  • Configuring Sentinel RBAC roles
  • Azure RBAC roles for Sentinel configuration
  • Data storage design: log types and retention policies

Data Ingestion

  • Identifying data sources for Sentinel
  • Implementing Content Hub solutions
  • Configuring Microsoft connectors for Azure resources
  • Syslog and Common Event Format (CEF) collection
  • Windows Security Events via data collection rules and WEF
  • Custom log tables in the workspace

Configure Protections and Detections

Covers configuring Microsoft Defender security policies, custom detection rules, analytics rules, and behavioral analytics in Sentinel.

18%
Weight
7
Questions
180
Marks

Microsoft Defender Product Policies

  • Policies for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
  • Policies for Microsoft Defender for Office 365
  • Security policies for Defender for Endpoint and ASR rules
  • Cloud workload protections in Defender for Cloud

Defender XDR Detections

  • Custom detection rules management
  • Alert management: tuning, suppression, and correlation
  • Deception rules in Defender XDR

Sentinel Analytics and Detections

  • Classifying and analyzing data using entities
  • Configuring and managing analytics rules
  • ASIM parsers for data queries
  • Implementing behavioral analytics

Manage Incident Response

Covers responding to alerts and incidents in the Microsoft Defender portal, Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Sentinel, including Security Copilot for investigation.

28%
Weight
11
Questions
280
Marks

Defender XDR Incident Investigation

  • Investigating threats via Defender for Office 365
  • Ransomware and BEC incidents via attack disruption
  • DLP policy-identified compromised entities
  • Purview insider risk policy investigations
  • Defender for Cloud workload protection alerts
  • Defender for Cloud Apps security risk investigation
  • Microsoft Entra ID compromised identity investigation
  • Defender for Identity security alerts

Defender for Endpoint Response

  • Investigating device timelines
  • Live response and investigation packages
  • Evidence and entity investigation

Microsoft 365 Threat Investigation

  • Unified audit log threat investigation
  • Content Search for threat investigation
  • Microsoft Graph activity logs investigation

Microsoft Sentinel Incident Response

  • Investigating and remediating Sentinel incidents
  • Creating and configuring automation rules
  • Sentinel playbooks creation and configuration
  • Running playbooks on on-premises resources

Security Copilot Integration

  • Creating and using Security Copilot promptbooks
  • Managing sources: plugins and files
  • Integrating Security Copilot via connectors
  • Managing permissions and roles in Security Copilot
  • Monitoring Security Copilot capacity and cost
  • Identifying threats and risks using Security Copilot
  • Investigating incidents using Security Copilot

Manage Security Threats

Covers threat hunting using KQL in Defender XDR and Sentinel, MITRE ATT&CK analysis, and workbook visualization.

18%
Weight
7
Questions
180
Marks

KQL-Based Threat Hunting

  • Identifying threats using Kusto Query Language (KQL)
  • Interpreting threat analytics in Defender portal
  • Creating custom hunting queries with KQL

Sentinel Threat Hunting

  • MITRE ATT&CK matrix attack vector coverage analysis
  • Managing and using threat indicators
  • Creating and managing hunts
  • Creating and monitoring hunting queries
  • Using hunting bookmarks for data investigations
  • Retrieving and managing archived log data
  • Creating and managing search jobs

Sentinel Workbooks

  • Activating and customizing workbook templates
  • Creating custom KQL-based workbooks
  • Configuring visualizations
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Learning Progress

Manage a Security Operations Environment 85%
Configure Protections and Detections 92%

Practice Test Scores

95%
Latest Score
Above passing threshold

Frequently Asked Questions