Baseline configuration is the process of standardizing the configuration settings for a system or network. In this scenario, the organization needs to standardize the operating system configurations before deploying them across the network. Establishing a baseline configuration ensures that all systems adhere to the organization's security policies and operational requirements.
References = CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 study materials, particularly in the domain of system hardening and configuration management.

To block signature-based attacks, the Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) must be in active mode. In this mode, the IPS can actively monitor and block malicious traffic in real time based on predefined signatures. This is the best mode to prevent known attack types from reaching the internal network.
Monitor mode and sensor mode are typically passive, meaning they only observe and log traffic without actively blocking it.
Audit mode is used for review purposes and does not actively block traffic.

Detailed Explanation:MAC filtering allows network administrators to control device access by specifying allowed MAC addresses. This prevents unauthorized devices, such as a laptop plugged into a network port, from gaining access. Reference: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Study Guide, Domain 2: Threats and Vulnerabilities, Section: "Network Access Control Methods".

Sanitization is the process of thoroughly removing or wiping all data from devices before disposal or donation to prevent sensitive information from being recovered or leaked.
Reference:
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Official Study Guide, Domain 4.4: "Sanitization is used to ensure data cannot be recovered from donated or decommissioned equipment." Exam Objectives 4.4: "Summarize business continuity and disaster recovery concepts."

Multicloud architectures use two or more IaaS providers (e.g., AWS + Azure + GCP) to distribute workloads, increase redundancy, and reduce single points of failure. Security+ SY0-701 emphasizes multicloud strategies for enhancing:
Resilience
Availability
Fault tolerance
Geographic redundancy
Vendor independence
The question specifies:
Critical VMs
Hosted across different IaaS providers
Still maintained by internal application owners
This perfectly matches a multicloud deployment, where organizations maintain control over VM configuration while leveraging multiple cloud vendors for resilience.
SaaS provider diversity (B) applies to application services, not internally managed VMs.
On-prem load balancing (C) does not involve cloud providers.
Corporate-owned off-site locations (D) refer to DR sites, not multi-vendor cloud hosting.
Thus, A: Multicloud architectures is the correct answer.