SC-500 Exam Topics and Domain Weightings (2026): Where the AI Security Questions Actually Sit
Exam SC-500, the full title of which is Implementing End-to-End Security Controls for Cloud and AI Workloads, has four skill areas. Microsoft publishes them with these weightings:
- Manage identity, access, and governance, 20 to 25%
- Secure storage, databases, and networking, 25 to 30%
- Secure compute, 20 to 25%
- Manage and monitor security posture, 20 to 25%
That is the complete list. If you have seen a guide that gives SC-500 a fifth domain called AI security, it is wrong. AI security is examined, and heavily, but it is a subsection of Secure compute, sitting alongside virtual machines and containers in a band worth 20 to 25% of your score.
The four SC-500 exam topics and their official weightings
| Domain | Weighting | Centre of gravity |
|---|---|---|
| Manage identity, access, and governance | 20 to 25% | Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Key Vault, Azure Policy, RBAC |
| Secure storage, databases, and networking | 25 to 30% | Storage accounts, Azure SQL, NSGs, Azure Firewall, private endpoints |
| Secure compute | 20 to 25% | AI and agent security, servers and VMs, containers, app platform services |
| Manage and monitor security posture | 20 to 25% | Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Sentinel, Security Copilot |
The heaviest single domain is Secure storage, databases, and networking. Classic infrastructure security, in other words, carries more weight on this exam than anything else, including the AI material the certification is named after.
Microsoft states the pass mark plainly: a score of 700 or greater is required to pass.
Where the AI security questions actually sit
Inside Secure compute, Microsoft lists a subsection called Implement security for AI. Its objectives are specific enough to study directly:
- Identify overexposure of data in SharePoint
- Identify risks related to Microsoft Copilot and AI apps using Microsoft Purview Data Security Posture Management
- Enable and configure real-time protection for Microsoft Copilot Studio agents
- Implement conditional access for Microsoft Entra Agent ID, and manage Entra Agent ID access
- Analyse blast radius for Entra Agent ID security risks using Defender XDR
- Configure and deploy AI Gateway in Azure API Management for Microsoft Foundry
- Enable Defender for AI Service in Cloud Workload Protection within Defender for Cloud
- Configure guardrails for agent security in Foundry
- Monitor the Data and AI security dashboard in Defender for Cloud
- Manage agents in the Microsoft 365 admin centre
Two things follow from that list. The first is that Microsoft treats an AI agent as an identity with a blast radius, which is why Entra Agent ID appears three times. The second is that none of this is abstract AI safety theory. Every objective names a product and an action you can practise in a tenant.
The rest of Secure compute is conventional: disk encryption, Azure Bastion, just-in-time VM access, extending controls to hybrid and multicloud servers with Azure Arc, onboarding to Defender for Servers, agentless scanning, secure boot and vTPM, then Defender for Containers, AKS, Azure Container Registry, Container Apps, Functions, Logic Apps, App Service, Azure Web Application Firewall and back-end API protection through API Management.
So the AI content shares its 20 to 25% band with a large amount of compute and container material. Budgeting a quarter of your revision for AI alone would leave the rest of that domain thin.
What each of the other domains covers
Manage identity, access, and governance
Privileged Identity Management, conditional access policies, authentication methods including MFA and passwordless, app registrations and enterprise applications, OAuth permission grants and consent settings, and managed identities. Azure Key Vault gets its own block: deployment, access configuration, firewall settings, key and secret and certificate management, secret scanning with Defender CSPM, and Defender for Key Vault.
The governance half covers Azure Policy with built-in and custom definitions, regulatory compliance evaluation in Defender for Cloud, resource locks, built-in and custom role assignments, remediating overprivileged access with Azure RBAC, backup protection, and applying security controls through infrastructure as code.
Secure storage, databases, and networking
The largest domain. Storage account security and Azure Storage firewall rules, Defender for Storage threat protection, and storage access policies. For databases: platform-level configuration in Azure SQL, auditing for Azure SQL Database and Managed Instance, and Defender for Databases.
Networking is the densest part: network security groups and application security groups, Azure Virtual Network Manager, Virtual WAN security, VPN connections, Microsoft Entra Private Access, private endpoints, Private Link services, Azure Firewall, and evaluating effective security rules with Network Watcher diagnostics.
Manage and monitor security posture
Defender CSPM, compliance evaluation against frameworks, workload protection plans, connecting AWS and GCP environments, Defender Vulnerability Management for Azure VMs, and Defender External Attack Surface Management.
Microsoft Sentinel takes up most of the rest: creating and connecting workspaces, assigning roles, content hub solutions, data connectors, syslog and CEF collection, Windows Security event collection through data collection rules, custom log tables, automation rules and playbooks, and data retention. The domain closes on Microsoft Security Copilot, covering workspaces, permissions and roles, plugins, and agents.
What the weightings mean for your study time
Work backwards from the bands. Networking, storage and databases deserve the largest single block of revision because that domain can reach 30%. Identity is the next priority, partly because it is worth up to 25% on its own and partly because Entra ID concepts resurface inside the AI objectives.
A reasonable split is roughly three sessions on storage, databases and networking for every two on each of the other three domains. If your background is Azure infrastructure administration, the AI subsection will be the unfamiliar part and deserves disproportionate lab time relative to its share of the marks, because you cannot reason your way through Entra Agent ID questions from first principles.
Exam Tip: Microsoft says most questions cover features that are generally available, but the exam may include Preview features where those features are commonly used. Do not skip a Preview capability that appears by name in the skills outline.
The SC-500 details Microsoft does and does not publish
Several sites quote a precise question count and a single global price for SC-500. Microsoft publishes neither.
| Detail | What Microsoft publishes |
|---|---|
| Pass mark | 700 or greater |
| Domain weightings | Four domains, ranges as listed above |
| Question count | Not published |
| Price | Set by the country or region where the exam is proctored, no single global figure |
| Prerequisites | None formally required |
| Practice assessment | Not currently available for SC-500 |
On price, check the figure for your own region through the Pearson VUE scheduling flow from your Microsoft Learn profile rather than trusting a number in a blog post.
On the practice assessment, Microsoft's own note is that these are usually available within eight weeks of an exam leaving beta and becoming generally available. Until it appears, the free official option most candidates rely on does not exist for this exam, which is worth knowing before you plan your final fortnight of revision.
There are no formal prerequisites, but Microsoft's audience profile is explicit about the experience it assumes: practical administration of Azure and hybrid environments across compute, network and storage, strong familiarity with Microsoft Entra ID, and familiarity with Microsoft 365 administration. Candidates who have never worked in a tenant tend to find the identity and Sentinel material hardest.
You can preview the exam interface itself in Microsoft's exam sandbox at aka.ms/examdemo. Worth ten minutes if you have not sat a Microsoft exam recently, particularly to see how case studies and labs are presented.
How the SC-500 exam topics relate to AZ-500
AZ-500 and the Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate certification retired on 31 August 2026, and SC-500 is the successor path. Anyone who was studying the AZ-500 objectives will recognise most of what is above: identity, Key Vault, storage, networking, compute and Defender for Cloud all carry over in substance.
The genuine addition is the AI and agent security material, and the move of Security Copilot into the posture domain. For a fuller comparison of the two exams and the migration decision, see AZ-500 vs SC-500: which Microsoft security certification should you take. If you have already decided and want a schedule, the SC-500 eight-week study plan maps revision onto these four domains. SC-500 is one entry in a much longer list of changes this year, tracked in our roundup of Microsoft certifications retiring in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SC-500 difficult?
It is an intermediate, associate-level exam that assumes real administrative experience rather than theory. The breadth is the challenge more than the depth: four domains spanning identity, networking, compute, AI agents and SIEM means few candidates are comfortable across all of it. Engineers coming from an Azure infrastructure background usually find the AI and Sentinel objectives hardest.
How much does the SC-500 certification cost?
Microsoft sets exam prices by the country or region in which the exam is proctored and does not publish a single global fee, so the accurate answer depends on where you sit it. Check your own price through the Pearson VUE scheduling flow from your Microsoft Learn profile before budgeting.
What are the differences between the AZ-500 and SC-500 exams?
AZ-500 retired on 31 August 2026 and SC-500 replaces it. The core Azure security content carries across, and SC-500 adds an AI and agent security subsection covering Copilot risk, Microsoft Entra Agent ID, Defender for AI Service and Foundry guardrails, along with Microsoft Security Copilot in the posture domain.
Are there SC-500 certification prerequisites?
None are formally required. Microsoft's audience profile assumes practical Azure and hybrid administration experience across compute, network and storage, strong familiarity with Microsoft Entra ID, and familiarity with Microsoft 365 administration.
How many questions are on the SC-500 exam?
Microsoft does not publish a question count for SC-500. Any specific number you find is an estimate rather than an official figure. What Microsoft does publish is the pass mark, which is a score of 700 or greater.
Ready to Start Practising?
Knowing the weightings tells you where to spend your time. Answering questions against them tells you whether the time worked. The CertCrush SC-500 course is built around these four domains in their official proportions, including the Entra Agent ID and Defender for AI objectives that Microsoft's own practice assessment does not yet cover.
Create a free account and start with the domain you rated yourself weakest on.