Microsoft's new Cybersecurity Architect Expert certification

In April 2022, Microsoft announced its first ever expert level security certification - Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect. To be awarded the certification, one of the requirements is to pass the new SC-100 exam, which became generally available July 2022.

I took the SC-100 exam while it was in its Beta phase in May. Click "Read More" to see how I prepared.

I was fortunate to already have the AZ-500 and MS-500 certifications covering Azure and Microsoft 365 security - which proved excellent preparation - and either of which can be used to meet the certification prerequisites.

I added to that by ensuring I was familiar with the Microsoft cybersecurity architecture reference architectures, and brushing up on my knowledge of Azure Sentinel.

These were the principal topics which came up for me in the SC-100 exam:

• Microsoft Defender for Cloud
• Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
• Microsoft Defender for IOT
• Microsoft Defender for Identity
• Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
• Microsoft Defender for Office 365
• Microsoft Purview / Microsoft Compliance Center
• Microsoft Endpoint Manager / InTune
• Microsoft Zero Trust architecture
• Microsoft Information Protection
• Azure Sentinel SIEM and SOAR
• Azure Policy
• Azure virtual networks and private endpoints
• Azure Bastion
• Azure AD Identity Protection
• Azure AD Conditional Access
• Azure AD Connect
• Azure Landing Zone
• Azure Arc
• Azure Lighthouse
• Azure Firewall
• Azure AD Application Proxy
  
  

I found the SC-100 exam interesting as it illustrated just how much Microsoft has changed - nearly all the questions were on cloud, relating to either Microsoft 365 or Azure. The only questions I can recall about on-premise were on Active Directory, and even then mainly about hybrid scenarios.

Last week I received the good news that I'd passed and now have the certification!

I hope this post helps you with your preparation, if you decide Microsoft's expert level security certification is part of your learning journey.