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SC-500: Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate — Course Companion

Exam companion repository for the Pearson / Microsoft Press video course taught by Tim Warner, Microsoft MVP.

15 lessons · ~10 hours runtime · 100% aligned to the official Microsoft Skills Measured document for Exam SC-500.

Microsoft Learn License: MIT Course Status Beta Exam


About this repository

This repo is the optional but recommended companion to the video course Exam SC-500: Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate (Video), published by Pearson under the Microsoft Press imprint. The course teaches every published objective on Microsoft's SC-500 exam, the successor to AZ-500.

Inside, you will find:

  • A folder per lesson with hands-on demo scripts, Azure CLI / PowerShell commands, and ARM / Bicep / Terraform snippets
  • A consolidated objectives map showing exactly which lesson covers which Microsoft Functional Group (FG) sub-domain
  • Curated links to Microsoft Learn, Microsoft Defender for Cloud documentation, Microsoft Sentinel content hub solutions, and Microsoft Security Copilot guidance
  • Practice scenarios and a study schedule template you can copy into your tool of choice

Heads up: This repo is in active development alongside the course recording. Content lands lesson by lesson as the videos are produced. Star and watch the repo to track updates.


Exam at a glance

Exam code SC-500
Full title Microsoft Certified: Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate
Successor to AZ-500 (retires August 31, 2026)
Beta exam window May 2026
General availability July 2026
Format Multiple choice, case studies, scenario-based
Official study guide SC-500 Skills Measured (Microsoft)

Skills measured (published weights)

Functional group Weight Lessons
Manage identity, access, and governance 20-25% 1, 2, 3
Secure storage, databases, and networking 25-30% 4, 5, 6, 7
Secure compute (including AI workloads) 20-25% 8, 9, 10, 11
Manage and monitor security posture 20-25% 12, 13, 14, 15

Course outline

# Lesson Maps to
1 Identity Foundations: PIM, RBAC, Custom Roles, and Governance Scope FG1.1, FG1.3
2 Entra ID Access: MFA, Conditional Access, Apps, and Managed Identities FG1.1
3 Key Vault, Azure Policy, Compliance, Backup, and IaC FG1.2, FG1.3
4 Secure Storage and Databases FG2.1, FG2.2
5 Network Segmentation: NSGs, ASGs, AVNM, Virtual WAN, VPN FG2.3
6 Private Connectivity: Private Link, Private Endpoints, Entra Private Access FG2.3
7 Perimeter Protection: Azure Firewall and Network Watcher FG2.3
8 Secure Servers and Virtual Machines FG3.2, FG4.1
9 Secure Application Platform Services: Containers, Serverless, App Service, WAF, APIM FG3.3
10 Secure AI Workloads I: Data Overexposure, Copilot, Entra Agent ID FG3.1
11 Secure AI Workloads II: Foundry, AI Gateway, Defender for AI FG3.1
12 Manage Posture with Defender for Cloud and Multicloud FG4.1
13 Microsoft Sentinel I: Workspace, Connectors, Log Ingestion FG4.2
14 Microsoft Sentinel II: Analytics, Automation, KQL, Purview Audit FG4.2
15 Microsoft Security Copilot for Cloud and AI Defenders FG4.3

See the full mapping in docs/exam-objectives.md.


How to use this repo

If you're watching the videos

  1. Open the lesson folder that matches the video you're watching.
  2. Use the README.md in that lesson folder as your hands-on guide.
  3. The demo scripts are idempotent and parameterized — clone them into your own sandbox subscription and run them as written, or modify the parameters at the top of each file.

If you're prepping for the exam without the videos

  1. Start with docs/exam-objectives.md and self-rate each sub-domain on a 1-5 confidence scale.
  2. For any sub-domain below a 4, open the matching lesson folder and work through the demo scripts on your own subscription.
  3. Use docs/study-plan-template.md as a 30-, 60-, or 90-day study calendar.

If you're a corporate L&D buyer

Tim's content is licensed for individual learner use under MIT (see LICENSE). For enterprise team licensing through Pearson, ACM Learning Center, or O'Reilly, contact your account representative or reach Tim directly via timw.info.


Prerequisites

To run the demos in your own subscription you need:

  • An Azure subscription with Owner or Contributor at the subscription scope (sandbox or pay-as-you-go is fine; budget alerts strongly recommended)
  • Azure CLI 2.60+ (install)
  • Azure PowerShell Az 11+ (install)
  • Microsoft Entra ID P1 or P2 license for Conditional Access and Privileged Identity Management demos
  • Microsoft Defender for Cloud enabled (Free tier is fine for posture management; certain demos require enhanced security features)
  • Microsoft Sentinel workspace (a Log Analytics workspace plus the Sentinel solution)
  • A working knowledge of Azure resource hierarchy, networking, and identity at the AZ-104 level

Repository structure

sc500/
├── README.md                          ← you are here
├── LICENSE                            ← MIT
├── CONTRIBUTING.md                    ← how to report issues and submit fixes
├── CHANGELOG.md                       ← lesson-by-lesson publication log
├── docs/
│   ├── exam-objectives.md             ← full SC-500 objective domain map
│   ├── study-plan-template.md         ← 30/60/90 day calendar template
│   └── resources.md                   ← curated Microsoft Learn and external links
├── lessons/
│   ├── lesson-01-identity-foundations/
│   ├── lesson-02-entra-id-access/
│   ├── ... (one folder per lesson)
│   └── lesson-15-security-copilot/
├── demos/
│   └── (demo scripts and ARM/Bicep/Terraform artifacts)
└── .github/
    └── ISSUE_TEMPLATE/                ← typo, broken link, content question

Author

Tim Warner is a Microsoft MVP in Azure AI and Cloud and Datacenter Management, Principal Staff Author at Pluralsight (200+ courses, 1M+ learners), Live Learning Instructor at O'Reilly, and Senior Content Developer at Pearson. He has trained Microsoft certification candidates since the days when 70-290 was a thing.


How to study (the three-pillar method)

Tim tells every certification student to balance three pillars:

  1. Theoretical knowledge — this course, Microsoft Learn, the published study guide
  2. Hands-on experience — your own Azure sandbox, the demo scripts in this repo
  3. Practice exam reviewMeasureUp is Microsoft's official practice exam vendor

This repo gives you pillar 2. The video course gives you pillar 1. MeasureUp closes pillar 3.


License

MIT — see LICENSE. Course videos and Pearson-branded materials are separately licensed by Pearson and not redistributable.


Acknowledgments

  • Microsoft Press and Pearson for publishing this title
  • Laura Lewin for editorial steering
  • The Microsoft Defender, Sentinel, Foundry, and Entra teams for shipping the products this exam actually tests
  • The thousands of certification candidates who have taken Tim's courses and asked the questions that made this material better

Go earn that badge. 🎯

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Course companion repo for Exam SC-500: Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate (Microsoft Press / Pearson video course by Tim Warner). Aligned 100% to the published Microsoft Skills Measured document.

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