SC-5004: Defend Against Cyberthreats with Defender XDR

The SC-5004: Defend Against Cyberthreats with Microsoft Defender XDR course teaches security professionals how to use Microsoft Defender XDR for comprehensive threat detection and response. This 1-day hands-on course covers incident investigation, threat hunting, automated response, and cross-workload detection across endpoints, email, identity, and cloud applications. Esamatic srl, a Microsoft Learning Partner in Milan, delivers this course with Microsoft Certified Trainers.

• Incident Investigation: incident queue management, alert correlation, evidence analysis, and attack story reconstruction
• Threat Hunting: advanced hunting with KQL, custom detection rules, and proactive threat identification
• Automated Response: automated investigation and response (AIR), playbooks, and remediation actions
• Cross-Workload Detection: unified detection across Defender for Endpoint, Office 365, Identity, and Cloud Apps
• Security Operations: SOC workflows, threat intelligence integration, and incident response best practices

Course Overview: SC-5004 Defend Against Cyberthreats with Defender XDR

Microsoft Defender XDR is an extended detection and response platform that provides unified investigation and response across endpoints, email, identities, and cloud applications. The SC-5004 course provides practical experience with incident management, advanced hunting using KQL, automated investigation and response, and cross-workload threat detection — enabling security teams to detect, investigate, and respond to sophisticated cyberattacks efficiently.

Learning Objectives

1. Investigate and manage security incidents — use the Defender XDR portal to triage incidents, correlate alerts, analyze evidence, and reconstruct attack stories
2. Hunt for threats proactively — write advanced hunting queries with KQL, create custom detection rules, and identify threats before they cause damage
3. Configure automated response — set up automated investigation and response, configure remediation actions, and build response playbooks for common attack scenarios
4. Leverage cross-workload detection — correlate signals across Defender for Endpoint, Office 365, Identity, and Cloud Apps for comprehensive threat visibility

Who Should Attend

This course is ideal for security operations analysts, SOC analysts, threat hunters, and incident responders who use Microsoft Defender XDR to protect their organizations from cyberthreats.

Career Benefits

Extended detection and response is the future of security operations. The SC-5004 course builds practical skills in Microsoft Defender XDR — competencies essential for SOC analysts, security engineers, and threat hunters defending organizations against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.

Prerequisites

• Basic understanding of Microsoft 365 security services
• Familiarity with security operations and incident response concepts
• Basic knowledge of KQL (Kusto Query Language) is helpful
• Understanding of common attack techniques and threat vectors

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Microsoft Defender XDR?

Microsoft Defender XDR (Extended Detection and Response) is a unified security platform that correlates signals across endpoints, email, identities, and cloud apps to provide comprehensive threat detection, investigation, and automated response.

What is KQL and why is it important?

KQL (Kusto Query Language) is the query language used for advanced hunting in Defender XDR. It enables security analysts to search across security data, identify patterns, and create custom detections for proactive threat hunting.

Do I need SOC experience?

Basic security operations knowledge is helpful. The course provides hands-on experience with real-world scenarios suitable for analysts looking to build or enhance their Defender XDR investigation skills.

How does Defender XDR differ from individual Defender products?

Individual Defender products protect specific workloads. Defender XDR unifies them into a single platform with cross-workload correlation, shared investigation tools, and coordinated response actions for comprehensive threat management.