SC-401 Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365 Questions and Answers

To implement Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management for SharePoint Online (Site1), you need to create a retention label first. Retention labels define how long content should be retained or deleted based on compliance requirements. Once a retention label is created, it can be manually or automatically applied to content in SharePoint Online, Exchange, OneDrive, and Teams. After creating a retention label, you can configure label policies to apply them to Site1 and other locations.

Retention policy tags (MRM) for Exchange Online are applied by the Managed Folder Assistant (MFA). To apply a newly created Exchange retention policy to mailbox items immediately, you manually invoke MFA with Start-ManagedFolderAssistant for the mailbox or set of mailboxes. Creating DLP policies or label policies in Purview does not accelerate MRM processing.

You need one Sensitive Information Type (SIT) per distinct information pattern. The minimum set that covers both SharePoint and Exchange is:

Credit Card Number (builtin) – used for documents and email.

UK National Health Service Number (builtin) – used for documents and email.

EU/UK Physical Address (builtin “EU PII: Physical address”).

User credentials (builtin “Credentials”/“User credentials”).

Custom keywordbased SIT for the sensitive project names (“Project Tailspin”, “Project Contoso”, “Project Falcon”) – can be one SIT using a keyword list.

SITs are reusable across locations, so you don’t count duplicates for email and documents.

The sensitivity label Label1 assigns permissions (User1 = Co-Author, User2 = Reviewer, User3 = Viewer) and enables Double Key Encryption (DKE). Microsoft 365 Copilot can summarize content only when the service can access the file using the user’s permissions. Content protected with Double Key Encryption is not accessible to Microsoft cloud services (including Copilot); as a result, Copilot cannot open or process DKE-protected files for any user, even if they can open the file themselves in Office apps.

Therefore, no user can use Microsoft 365 Copilot to summarize File1.

If User1 sends an email externally with five credit card numbers, Policy1 applies. → Yes

If User1 sends an email externally with five credit card numbers, Policy2 also applies. → No (stopped by Policy1).

If User2 sends an email externally with five credit card numbers, Policy2 applies. → Yes

???? Policy1

Order: 0 (highest priority).

Scope: Exchange email for the Finance distribution group.

Conditions: Content shared externally AND contains ≥ 5 credit card numbers.

Actions: Encrypt with “Encrypt email” option.

Additional options: Stop processing additional DLP policies and rules.

???? Policy2

Order: 1 (lower priority).

Scope: All Exchange email.

Conditions: Content shared externally AND contains ≥ 5 credit card numbers.

Actions: Restrict/block OR encrypt depending on configuration, notify admin.

Additional options: None.

???? User-by-user Analysis

User1 (Finance group):

Policy1 applies first (priority 0).

If User1 sends email externally with ≥ 5 CCNs, Policy1 encrypts the email and stops further processing.

Therefore, Policy2 never applies to User1.

User2 (Sales group):

Not in Finance, so Policy1 does not apply.

Policy2 applies (all Exchange email).

If User2 sends email externally with ≥ 5 CCNs, Policy2 action is enforced (restrict/block or encrypt).

Box 1: Publishing a Sensitivity Label

Sensitivity labels can be published to Microsoft 365 groups, security groups, SharePoint Online sites, and Microsoft Teams. Since we have:

● Group1 (Microsoft 365 group) - Supported

● Group2 (Security group) - Supported

● Site1 (SharePoint Online site) - Supported

● Team1 (Microsoft Teams team) - Supported

This means we can publish Label1 to Group1, Group2, Site1, and Team1.

Box 2: Auto-Applying a Sensitivity Label

Auto-apply policies for sensitivity labels work on:

● SharePoint Online sites (documents)

● OneDrive (documents)

● Exchange email (messages)

However, labels cannot be auto-applied to Microsoft 365 groups or Teams directly because labels are applied to files and emails, not to groups or Teams as entities. Since Site1 (a SharePoint Online site) supports auto-apply, it is the correct option.

Let’s analyze each scenario based on the given retention policies and Microsoft 365 documentation.

???? Policies Recap

Policy1

Teams channel messages → All Teams → Retain 7 years → Delete automatically.

Teams chats → User1 → Retain 7 years → Delete automatically.

Policy2

Teams channel messages → Team1 → Retain 5 years → Delete automatically.

Teams chats → User2 → Retain 5 years → Delete automatically.

???? Reference: Retention policies in Microsoft Teams

???? Statement 1: The message edited by User1 will be deleted after five years.

Location = Team1 channel.

Policy1 applies (7 years for all Teams).

Policy2 applies (5 years for Team1).

Conflict rule: For retention, the longest duration wins.

Therefore, the message stays 7 years, not 5.

✅ Answer: NO

???? Statement 2: User1 can see the message sent by User2 for up to seven years.

Location = Private 1:1 chat (User2 → User1).

For User1’s mailbox: Policy1 applies (7 years).

For User2’s mailbox: Policy2 applies (5 years).

Retention in Teams chats is per-user, so each participant may have different durations.

For User1, the retention is 7 years.

✅ Answer: YES

???? Statement 3: The message deleted by User1 will be moved to the SubstrateHolds folder.

Location = Team2 channel.

User1 deletes the message, but retention policy (Policy1) applies (7 years).

Retention overrides user deletion: message is moved to the SubstrateHolds folder in the hidden mailbox for preservation.

???? Reference: How retention works with SubstrateHolds

✅ Answer: YES

To ensure Azure Storage Account keys are encrypted when sent via email, you need a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy that detects Azure Storage Account keys using a sensitive information type and automatically encrypts emails containing these keys.

Mail flow rules (transport rules) can detect sensitive info, but they are limited in encryption capabilities.

DLP policies provide more advanced protection and integration with Microsoft Purview for sensitive info detection.

To validate whether an audit log retention policy will apply to the intended entries, you should configure the following fields:

● Date and time range (UTC) ensures that you are searching for audit logs within the time period when the policy should be applied. Audit logs are time-sensitive, and policies affect logs based on their timestamp.

● Record types allows you to filter and search for specific audit log categories (e.g., Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, etc.) that are affected by the retention policy. Selecting the correct record type ensures that the policy is evaluated against the relevant data.

Requirement 1 – Encrypt all email to fabrikam.com automatically

To force encryption for mail sent to a specific external domain (fabrikam.com):

You configure a mail flow rule (transport rule) in the Exchange admin center (EAC).

This rule can apply Office Message Encryption (OME) automatically when messages match conditions such as recipient domain.

A Preservation Lock in Microsoft Purview Retention Policies enforces strict compliance and prevents certain modifications to ensure data is retained according to compliance requirements.

When a Preservation Lock is applied:

1. You cannot disable or delete the policy.

2. You cannot remove locations from the policy.

3. You cannot decrease the retention period.

4. You can add locations to the policy.

5. You can increase the retention period.

You can expand the retention policy to cover additional locations (e.g., more Exchange mailboxes, SharePoint sites). You can extend the retention duration (e.g., increase from 5 years to 10 years) since this aligns with stricter compliance.

Step 1 – Understanding the scenario

The screenshot shows multiple Sensitive Information Types (SITs) in Microsoft Purview, including:

ABA Routing Number (Microsoft-built)

ASP.NET Machine Key (Microsoft-built)

Adatum document patterns (custom, Fingerprint type)

Adatum numbers (custom, Entity type)

Bundled SITs (like All Credential Types, All Full Names)

The question is asking:

Which SITs can you copy to create a new SIT?

Which SITs can you edit directly without copying?

Step 2 – Microsoft rules for SITs

Built-in SITs (published by Microsoft Corporation):

These cannot be edited directly. To modify them, you must create a copy first.

Custom SITs (created in your tenant, e.g., Contoso):

These can be edited directly without making a copy.

To create a keyword dictionary for a sensitive information type in Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP), you must use a plain text (.txt) file where each keyword is on a separate line.

Format Example (TXT file):

confidential

sensitive

classified

top secret

This format is simple, efficient, and directly compatible with Microsoft 365 DLP policies for keyword dictionaries.

How to use the keyword dictionary?

● Create a text file with one keyword per line.

● Upload it to Microsoft Purview under Data Classification > Sensitive Info Types.

● Use the dictionary in a DLP policy to identify and protect sensitive information.

To prevent the contents of files stored in Channel1 from being included in Microsoft 365 Copilot responses and ensure unauthorized users cannot access them, you should use Microsoft Purview Sensitivity Labels.

Sensitivity labels allow you to classify, protect, and restrict access to sensitive files. You can configure label-based encryption and access control policies to ensure that only authorized users can access or interact with the files in Channel1. Microsoft 365 Copilot respects sensitivity labels, meaning if a file is labeled with restricted permissions, Copilot will not use it in generated responses for unauthorized users.

The requirement states that all Microsoft 365 data for users must be retained for at least one year. In Microsoft 365, retention policies must be configured for each type of data storage.

Step 1: Identifying Where Data is Stored

From the case study, users store data in the following locations:

● SharePoint Online sites

● OneDrive accounts

● Exchange email

● Exchange public folders

● Teams chats

● Teams channel messages

Since these locations fall under two broad categories:

● Microsoft Exchange data (Emails, Public folders)

● SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams data

Step 2: Required Retention Policies

1️. A single retention policy can cover:

● SharePoint Online

● OneDrive

● Microsoft Teams

2. A second retention policy is required for:

● Exchange (Emails & Public Folders)

Thus, the minimum number of retention policies required to meet the requirement is 2.

Microsoft 365 retention policies can be applied broadly across multiple services with just two policies:

● One for Exchange & Public Folders

● One for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams

There's no need for separate policies for each individual workload unless different retention durations are required, which is not stated in the requirement.

Understanding Site4's Retention Policies:

● Site4RetentionPolicy1 deletes items older than 2 years from creation. If a file was created on January 1, 2021, it would be deleted after January 1, 2023.

● Site4RetentionPolicy2 retains files for 4 years from creation. If a file was created on January 1, 2021, it will be kept until January 1, 2025, but not deleted after that (policy states "Do nothing").

Statement 1 - Yes, because Site4RetentionPolicy2 ensures files are retained for 4 years.

Statement 2 - Yes, because Site4RetentionPolicy2 retains the file for 4 years (until January 1, 2025).

Statement 3 - No, because retention is only for 4 years (until January 1, 2025). After that, the policy does "nothing," meaning the file is no longer recoverable after that period.

To detect and protect confidential documents, we need a custom rule to identify project codes that start with 999 (since they are classified as confidential).

Box 1: A Sensitive Info Type (SIT) allows Microsoft Purview DLP policies to recognize structured data (e.g., project codes). DLP policies require a sensitive info type to detect content based on patterns, keywords, or dictionary terms. A sensitivity label alone does not define detection logic—it is used for classification and protection after content is identified.

Box 2: Since project codes follow a structured 10-digit pattern, we should use a Regular Expression (Regex) to match project codes that start with 999.

Example Regex pattern:

999\d{7}

This pattern detects a 10-digit number starting with "999".

The goal is to automatically label documents in Site1 that contain credit card numbers. To achieve this, we need a sensitivity label with an auto-labeling policy based on a sensitive info type that detects credit card numbers.

Step 1: Create a Sensitive Info Type

● A sensitive info type is needed to detect credit card numbers in documents.

● Microsoft Purview includes built-in sensitive info types for credit card numbers, but we can also create a custom one if necessary.

Step 2: Create a Sensitivity Label

● A sensitivity label is required to classify and protect documents containing sensitive information.

● This label can apply encryption, watermarking, or access controls to credit card data.

Step 3: Create an Auto-Labeling Policy

● An auto-labeling policy ensures that the sensitivity label is applied automatically when credit card numbers are detected in Site1.

● This policy is configured to scan files and automatically apply the correct sensitivity label.

To meet the requirement that all administrative users must be able to create Microsoft 365 sensitivity labels, we need to assign the Sensitivity Label Administrator role to the correct users.

Sensitivity Label Administrator Role Responsibilities

This role allows users to:

● Create and manage sensitivity labels in Microsoft Purview.

● Publish and configure auto-labeling policies.

● Modify label encryption and content marking settings.

Review of Admin Roles from the Table:

Users that must be assigned the Sensitivity Label Administrator role:

● Admin2 (Compliance Data Administrator)

● Admin3 (Compliance Administrator)

● Admin1 (Global Reader) (should be assigned this role to fulfill the requirement that all admins can create labels).

Understanding DLP Policy Impact on File Access

The DLP policy (DLPpolicy1) applies to Site2 and restricts access when:

● Content contains SWIFT Codes.

● Instance count is 2 or more.

File Analysis (Based on SWIFT Codes Count)

Files that remain accessible (not restricted by DLP):

● File1.docx (Contains only 1 SWIFT Code → Below restriction threshold)

User access after DLP policy is applied:

User1 (Site Owner):

● Has higher privileges and can override DLP restrictions (through admin intervention).

● Can access 2 files (File1.docx + override access to another file).

User2 (Site Visitor):

● Has read-only access but DLP blocks access to restricted files.

● Can only access 1 file (File1.docx), since all others are restricted.