7 Steps Guide to Crack the MS-500 Microsoft 365 Security Administration Certification Exam

Are you interested in Modern workspace security and planning to take the MS-500 Microsoft365 security administrator exam and get certified to progress your career? Then you have arrived at the right place. This exam is directed primarily towards security administrators, who are responsible for managing their organization’s security posture. However, this course and the exam can be taken by anyone interested to learn how to manage azure active directory, Intune, and other Microsoft security solutions in the organization.

Even system administrators and other IT administrators can take their knowledge to the next level by undergoing this exam as it covers an in-depth discussion on managing Microsoft identity and access, password and identity protection, identity synchronization, access management, Microsoft 365 security, threat intelligence, mobile device management, information protection, encryption, data loss prevention, cloud application security, archiving and retention, and data governance. 

With Microsoft 365 Certification you will stand out amongst others when it comes to securing a job to progress in your career. Earning a Microsoft 365 Certification is an impressive credential and shows potential employers that you are skilled in Microsoft Modern Workspace. This certification is highly in demand in the market and companies are looking for certified Microsoft Security Administrators. This post provides a 7-step approach to crack this certification exam. 

1. What to Expect from This Article?

This is a collaboration of topics and exam patterns that will help you clear MS-500 certification preparations. You can brush knowledge on Identity and Access Management, Security solutions with Microsoft, Managing Information protection, Managing compliance in Microsoft365, etc. Let us start from the basic prerequisites and work our way through the course outline, exam pattern, and all the way to documentation and related links to support your learning and expedite your career as a Microsoft 365 Security Administrator. 

2. Prerequisites

Learners should start this course already having the following skills: 

• Basic conceptual understanding of Microsoft Azure. 
• Experience with Windows 10 devices. 
• Experience with Office 365. 
• Basic understanding of authorization and authentication. 
• Basic understanding of computer networks. 
• Working knowledge of managing mobile devices.

3. About the MS-500 Microsoft 365 Security Administration Certification

MS-500 is an associate-level exam that has ‘Intermediate’ difficulty when compared to other Microsoft role-based exams. In this exam, you can expect questions from the study areas listed below, and based on the weightage of each study area, you can prepare for the certifications.  

• Implement and manage identity and access (35-40%) 
• Implement and manage threat protection (25-30%) 
• Implement and manage information protection (10-15%) 
• Manage governance and compliance features in Microsoft 365 (20-25%) 

4. Exam pattern: MS-500 Microsoft 365 Security Administration Certification

The exam pattern is described in the table below. There are no negative markings, so try your best to answer all the questions to be rewarded with partial marking. To score maximum marks, attempt every question. 

MS-500 exam pattern table 

Breakdown of modules 

Module 1: User and Group Management 

This module explains how to manage user accounts and groups in Microsoft 365. It introduces you to the Zero Trust concept as well as authentication. The module sets the foundation for the remainder of the course. 

 Module 2: Identity Synchronization and Protection 

This module explains concepts related to synchronizing identities for Microsoft 365. Specifically, it focuses on Azure AD Connect and managing directory synchronization to ensure the right people are connecting to your Microsoft 365 system. 

 Module 3: Identity and Access Management 

This module explains conditional access for Microsoft 365 and how it can be used to control access to resources in your organization. The module also explains Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and solutions for external access. We discuss identity governance as a concept and its components. 

Module 4: Security in Microsoft 365 

This module explains the various cyber-attack threats that exist. It then introduces you to the Microsoft solutions used to mitigate those threats. The module finishes with an explanation of Microsoft Secure Score and how it can be used to evaluate and report your organization’s security posture. 

Module 5: Threat Protection 

This module explains the various threat protection technologies and services available for Microsoft 365. The module covers message protection through Exchange Online Protection, Microsoft Defender for Identity, and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. 

Module 6: Threat Management 

This module explains Microsoft Threat Management which provides you with the tools to evaluate and address cyber threats and formulate responses. You will learn how to use the Security dashboard and Azure Sentinel for Microsoft 365. 

Module 7: Microsoft Cloud Application Security 

This module focuses on cloud application security in Microsoft 365. The module will explain cloud discovery, app connectors, policies, and alerts. You will learn how these features work to secure you cloud applications. 

Module 8: Mobility 

This module focuses on securing mobile devices and applications. You will learn about Mobile Device Management and how it works with Microsoft Intune. You will also learn about how Intune and Azure AD can be used to secure mobile applications. 

Module 9: Information Protection and Governance 

This module focuses on data loss prevention in Microsoft 365. You will learn about how to create policies, edit rules, and customize user notifications to protect your data. 

Module 10: Rights Management and Encryption 

This module explains information rights management in Exchange and SharePoint. The module also describes encryption technologies used to secure messages. 

Module 11: Data Loss Prevention 

This module focuses on data loss prevention in Microsoft 365. You will learn about how to create policies, edit rules, and customize user notifications to protect your data. 

Module 12: Compliance Management 

This module explains the Compliance center in Microsoft 365. It discusses the components of compliance score. 

Module 13: Insider Risk Management 

This module focuses on insider risk-related functionality within Microsoft 365. It covers not only Insider Risk Management in the compliance center but also information barriers and privileged access management as well. 

Module 14: Discover and Respond 

This module focuses on content search and investigations. The module covers how to use eDiscovery to conduct advanced investigations of Microsoft 365 data. It also covers audit logs and discusses GDPR data subject requests. 

5. How to Prepare for the Exam

Persistent learning and practice tests are part of the exam preparation but here I am talking about the material you need to collect and structure your learning methodology. Preparing for exams can be a daunting task and the MS-500 exam is quite a challenging one. Pick your learning methods based on how comfortable you are. Microsoft Learn Portal, Microsoft Documentation, and Microsoft Official Courseware (MOC) are self-learning portals (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/implement-manage-threat-protection/ ) that are readily available to you. Otherwise, there is an option for instructor lead training that can help you learn the coveted MS-500 certification. It is strongly recommended that you consider the right to learning to Move up. At CloudThat we have a course dedicated to candidates preparing for the MS-500: Microsoft 365 Security Administration exam certification. 

6. Points to Remember

The Microsoft 365 Security administrator collaborates with the Microsoft 365 Enterprise Administrator, business stakeholders and other workload administrators to plan and implement security strategies and to ensure that the solutions comply with the policies and regulations of the organization. This role proactively secures Microsoft 365 enterprise environments. Responsibilities include responding to threats, implementing, managing, and monitoring security and compliance solutions for the Microsoft 365 environment. They respond to incidents, investigations, and enforcement of data governance.  

The Microsoft 365 Security administrator is familiar with Microsoft 365 workloads and hybrid environments. This role has strong skills and experience with identity protection, information protection, threat protection, security management, and data governance. To get a better understanding of the concepts, you are advised to get hands-on experience to develop configure all these security controls and see how they affect an organization, you can connect with our finest trainers to receive lab instructions. CloudThat provides TestPrep for you to sharpen your skills and knowledge on the cloud. 

7. Get Trained & Certified Now

It is always great to get the right source of learning to Move Up. At CloudThat we have a course aimed at preparing candidates for the MS-500 Microsoft 365 Security Administration certification exam and registering with CloudThat. 

CloudThat helps you to crack this examination by getting you trained from Microsoft Certified Trainers with access to Microsoft Official Curriculum, real-world use cases, hands-on lab sessions, Test Preparation Portal, and mock tests.    

Here is the course link from CloudThat with a detail about the course here: 

Microsoft365 MS-500 Course 

Enroll in this course and get trained by the most qualified and accomplished trainers 

Below is the link for official Microsoft documentation that can be handy for you. 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/ms-500