Microsoft SC-401 Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365 Exam Dumps and Practice Test Questions Set 15 Q211-225
Visit here for our full Microsoft SC-401 exam dumps and practice test questions.
Question 211:
You want to prevent sensitive payroll data from being emailed externally while allowing internal sharing. Which feature should you implement?
A) Data Loss Prevention
B) Sensitivity Labels
C) Retention Labels
D) Conditional Access
Answer: A
Explanation:
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) in Microsoft 365 enables organizations to monitor and prevent the accidental or unauthorized sharing of sensitive payroll data. DLP policies detect sensitive content such as Social Security numbers, salary details, and tax information using predefined sensitive information types or custom patterns. When a user attempts to send restricted content externally via email, Teams, SharePoint, or OneDrive, the DLP policy can block the action, notify the user with a policy tip, and optionally alert administrators. These actions not only prevent data breaches but also educate users in real time, reinforcing secure handling practices for sensitive information.
DLP policies can be tailored to specific departments, groups, or users, allowing for granular control over content protection. For example, payroll information may be restricted only to HR personnel and finance teams, while other sensitive content, such as intellectual property or client data, may have separate policies. Organizations can configure reporting to track incidents, analyze trends, and adjust policies as necessary to improve compliance and reduce risk. Reports include information on policy matches, attempted sharing violations, and policy overrides, providing administrators with insight into potential vulnerabilities and areas where additional training may be required. Temporary policy overrides with justification allow necessary business operations to continue while maintaining security controls, ensuring that operational efficiency is not compromised in the pursuit of compliance.
DLP in Microsoft 365 integrates seamlessly with other security and compliance tools to create a layered approach to data protection. Sensitivity Labels classify and protect content through encryption, ensuring that only authorized users can access certain files, but they do not block accidental external sharing in real time. Retention Labels enforce content preservation schedules to comply with regulatory or organizational requirements, but do not prevent sharing or accidental leakage. Conditional Access controls access to applications based on identity, device, or location, helping to mitigate unauthorized access, but it does not inspect or block content sharing. DLP, by contrast, is behavior-focused: it monitors how users interact with sensitive content and enforces policies in real time, addressing risks that other tools alone cannot mitigate.
The flexibility of DLP policies in Microsoft 365 allows organizations to implement a “defense-in-depth” strategy. Policies can be applied across multiple workloads, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Teams, providing consistent protection regardless of where data is stored or shared. Advanced DLP features include integration with Microsoft Cloud App Security, enabling detection and remediation of risky behavior in third-party cloud applications, and the ability to trigger automated workflows that quarantine files, block sharing, or initiate review processes. These capabilities help organizations reduce the risk of noncompliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX, particularly when handling sensitive payroll and employee information.
User experience is another key advantage of Microsoft 365 DLP. Policy tips notify users of potential violations before content is shared, offering guidance on secure alternatives or requiring justification for sharing sensitive data. This proactive approach encourages a culture of security awareness and reduces the likelihood of accidental breaches. Administrators can also set up alerts to ensure that high-risk incidents are addressed promptly, balancing the need for protection with operational efficiency. Over time, analytics and reporting can help refine DLP policies to focus on areas of greatest risk, further strengthening organizational security posture.
Implementing DLP ensures payroll data remains secure while enabling internal collaboration. Unlike Sensitivity Labels, which focus on encrypting content rather than monitoring behavior, DLP provides real-time enforcement and behavioral insights. Unlike Retention Labels, which preserve data but do not prevent leakage, DLP actively blocks unauthorized actions. Unlike Conditional Access, which restricts access rather than inspecting content, DLP protects the data itself. By leveraging DLP, organizations can confidently support remote work, cross-department collaboration, and cloud adoption while minimizing the risk of data loss or regulatory violations. Ultimately, Microsoft 365 DLP is an essential tool for protecting sensitive payroll data, maintaining regulatory compliance, and fostering a culture of secure information handling across the enterprise.
Question 212:
You need to preserve all communications related to an internal investigation and prevent deletion. Which feature should you implement?
A) eDiscovery Legal Hold
B) Retention Labels
C) Data Loss Prevention
D) Communication Compliance
Answer: A
Explanation:
eDiscovery Legal Hold in Microsoft 365 preserves emails, Teams messages, SharePoint files, and OneDrive documents relevant to internal investigations. Once applied, Legal Hold prevents users from deleting or modifying content, ensuring its integrity for compliance or legal requirements. Legal Hold can target specific users, groups, or repositories, minimizing the impact on unrelated content. Detailed audit logs capture all activity on preserved content, supporting defensibility in case of regulatory or legal scrutiny. This ensures that every action—whether access, modification attempts, or administrative interactions—is traceable, giving organizations a clear chain of custody for critical data.
Integration with Microsoft 365 workloads ensures comprehensive coverage. All major collaboration platforms, email systems, and document repositories are included, making it possible to preserve content across the full spectrum of an employee’s digital footprint. Teams chat messages, for example, are increasingly common sources of evidence in investigations, and Legal Hold captures these in context, along with attachments, links, and metadata. Similarly, SharePoint and OneDrive files are preserved in their current state, including version history, so any changes or deletions after the hold are effectively frozen for review. Legal Hold also supports exporting content in a structured, defensible manner, enabling compliance, legal, or HR teams to review and analyze information efficiently. Exports can include rich metadata and file formatting, which ensures that content remains usable and verifiable during legal proceedings.
Legal Hold is flexible and precise. Organizations can apply holds to specific cases or investigations without broadly affecting unrelated content, reducing operational disruptions. Users under Legal Hold experience minimal workflow interference—they can continue working normally while the system ensures that relevant content is preserved. Administrators can monitor the status of holds, see which content is preserved, and generate compliance reports to satisfy internal governance or external regulatory requirements. Advanced search and filtering capabilities further allow investigators to narrow down content by keyword, date range, file type, or communication type, ensuring that only relevant material is included in the case-specific preservation.
Retention Labels, while useful for enforcing general content preservation schedules, are not case-specific and cannot selectively prevent deletion tied to a particular investigation. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) focuses on controlling the sharing of sensitive content but does not preserve communications or other evidence for investigations. Communication Compliance monitors communications for policy violations, flagging inappropriate behavior or regulatory breaches, but it does not prevent deletion of content. Legal Hold is therefore uniquely positioned to preserve the exact content required for internal investigations or legal discovery, ensuring that evidence remains intact and defensible.
Implementing eDiscovery Legal Hold ensures that critical communications and files are preserved in their original state, with complete auditability and minimal disruption to business operations. Unlike Retention Labels, Legal Hold is investigation-specific and precise; unlike DLP, it secures content for future review rather than preventing sharing; and unlike Communication Compliance, it maintains the integrity of evidence rather than merely monitoring behavior. By leveraging Legal Hold, organizations can confidently manage internal investigations, maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, and support defensible legal processes. This capability not only protects the organization during audits or litigation but also reinforces a culture of accountability and meticulous information governance. Ultimately, eDiscovery Legal Hold in Microsoft 365 provides a robust, case-focused preservation solution that ensures communications and files remain intact, accessible, and defensible throughout the lifecycle of an investigation.
Question 213:
You want to detect risky behavior where employees may exfiltrate sensitive project files to external storage. Which feature should you implement?
A) Insider Risk Management
B) Data Loss Prevention
C) Sensitivity Labels
D) Retention Labels
Answer: A
Explanation:
Insider Risk Management in Microsoft 365 identifies risky behavior within an organization, including attempts to exfiltrate sensitive project files to external locations or personal cloud accounts. By leveraging behavioral analytics, machine learning, and anomaly detection, it continuously monitors user activity across OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, and Exchange to detect unusual patterns. Examples of such patterns include bulk downloads of critical documents, access to files outside of a user’s normal role or responsibility, attempts to bypass security policies, or repeated failed attempts to access restricted content. Risk scores are automatically assigned to users based on their behavior, and alerts are generated for compliance, security, or IT teams, enabling timely investigation and intervention. This proactive approach allows organizations to identify potential insider threats before data loss or regulatory violations occur.
Contextual information is central to Insider Risk Management’s effectiveness. Each alert includes details about the content accessed, the timing of the activity, the user’s historical behavior patterns, and any related events or anomalies. This level of context allows teams to differentiate between malicious intent, accidental mistakes, or benign behavior that may appear unusual but does not pose a threat. For instance, a user accessing a large number of files ahead of a project deadline may trigger an alert, but the contextual data—such as prior access patterns and project timelines—can help security teams determine that the activity is legitimate. Similarly, a sudden download of confidential project files by a user outside the project team may indicate a potential insider risk, prompting a deeper investigation.
Policies in Insider Risk Management can be finely tuned by department, role, location, content type, or sensitivity level, aligning with organizational risk tolerance and regulatory requirements. For example, highly sensitive financial data or intellectual property can be subject to stricter monitoring than publicly available documentation. Organizations can also define thresholds for risk scores, escalation workflows, and automated interventions, such as restricting access to certain content, sending policy reminders to users, or initiating a case for investigation. This flexibility ensures that monitoring is precise, relevant, and aligned with business objectives, rather than generating an overwhelming number of false-positive alerts.
The integration of Insider Risk Management with other Microsoft 365 security and compliance tools amplifies its value. Data Loss Prevention (DLP), for instance, can block the sharing of sensitive information, but it does not evaluate user behavior or assign risk scores. Sensitivity Labels encrypt and protect content, but cannot detect suspicious actions or unusual patterns. Retention Labels preserve content according to organizational policies but do not actively identify or mitigate insider threats. By contrast, Insider Risk Management fills this critical gap, providing behavior-based insights and enabling proactive interventions that address the root cause of potential data exposure.
Proactive alerts generated by Insider Risk Management enable organizations to intervene before a potential breach escalates. Compliance and security teams can investigate high-risk users, communicate policy reminders, or temporarily limit access to sensitive information. Automated case management ensures that incidents are tracked, documented, and handled consistently, maintaining defensibility for regulatory audits or internal governance reviews. Furthermore, machine learning algorithms continuously improve as they analyze additional user activity, reducing false positives over time and increasing the precision of risk detection.
Insider Risk Management also supports organizational culture and employee education. Policy tips and behavioral alerts provide users with guidance on secure practices, helping reduce accidental risky behavior. Employees gain awareness of the types of actions that are considered risky, reinforcing a culture of compliance and security mindfulness without relying solely on punitive measures. In addition, reporting and analytics provide management with insights into broader trends, such as common risk behaviors, department-level vulnerabilities, or the effectiveness of existing security controls. These insights inform policy updates, training programs, and technology investments.
Insider Risk Management is the correct solution for detecting and mitigating internal threats because it evaluates user behavior, identifies risky actions, generates actionable alerts, and enables proactive mitigation. Unlike DLP, it is behavior-focused rather than content-focused; unlike Sensitivity Labels, it monitors actions rather than merely securing content; and unlike Retention Labels, it is proactive and preventative rather than reactive or lifecycle-based. By implementing Insider Risk Management, organizations can protect sensitive data, maintain regulatory compliance, prevent intellectual property theft, and foster a secure and vigilant workforce. Ultimately, it provides a comprehensive and adaptive framework for mitigating insider risk, enabling organizations to confidently balance productivity, collaboration, and data protection.
Question 214:
You want to enforce just-in-time activation for privileged administrative roles with approval workflows. Which feature should you implement?
A) Privileged Access Management
B) Conditional Access
C) Identity Protection
D) Data Loss Prevention
Answer: A
Explanation:
Privileged Access Management (PAM) allows organizations to enforce just-in-time (JIT) activation of administrative roles. Administrators must request temporary elevated access and provide a business justification. PAM integrates approval workflows, multi-factor authentication, and auditing to ensure accountability, governance, and compliance.
Integration with Azure AD and Microsoft 365 workloads ensures consistent enforcement across Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive. All privileged actions are logged, including requests, approvals, and activities performed. Role-specific workflows provide additional scrutiny for high-risk or critical roles, reducing the risk of misuse. PAM aligns with zero-trust principles by limiting standing privileges and reducing attack surfaces.
Conditional Access controls access based on identity, device, or location, but does not manage JIT privileges. Identity Protection detects risky sign-ins but does not control role activation. DLP protects content but does not manage administrative privileges.
Privileged Access Management is the correct solution because it enforces temporary activation, approval workflows, auditing, and reduces standing privilege risks. Unlike Conditional Access, it manages privileged workflows; unlike Identity Protection, it governs role activation; unlike DLP, it controls administrative actions rather than content.
Question 215:
You want to classify and encrypt all corporate legal documents to protect them from unauthorized access. Which feature should you implement?
A) Sensitivity Labels
B) Data Loss Prevention
C) Retention Labels
D) Conditional Access
Answer: A
Explanation:
Sensitivity Labels in Microsoft 365 allow organizations to classify and protect corporate legal documents by applying encryption, access restrictions, and usage limitations. Once a label is applied, it can enforce encryption, restrict access to specific users or groups, and prevent copying, printing, and external sharing. Labels can be applied manually by users or automatically through content inspection, keyword analysis, or predefined sensitive information types.
Persistent protection ensures security remains effective even if documents are downloaded or shared outside the organization. Administrators can monitor access, generate compliance reports, and detect unauthorized attempts to open or modify documents. Sensitivity Labels also provide recommended labeling for users to reduce human error and ensure consistent application of organizational policies.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) blocks the sharing of sensitive content across Microsoft 365 services but does not inherently encrypt the content or enforce access restrictions within the document itself. DLP policies focus on detecting and preventing data leakage, such as preventing emails containing credit card numbers or payroll information from being sent externally. While this is effective for stopping accidental or unauthorized sharing, DLP cannot control who can open, edit, or interact with the content once it has been accessed. It provides behavior-focused protection rather than content-focused protection, meaning the content itself remains unprotected and can still be copied, downloaded, or manipulated by authorized users. This limitation makes DLP insufficient for highly sensitive documents, such as legal contracts, intellectual property, or confidential HR files, where both access control and content encryption are critical.
Retention Labels enforce content lifecycle policies, including preservation and deletion schedules, ensuring that organizational or regulatory requirements for data retention are met. While Retention Labels are essential for compliance, they do not prevent unauthorized access to content, nor do they encrypt documents. Retention policies focus on how long data should be kept and when it should be deleted, rather than actively securing the content from misuse or exfiltration. For example, a document marked with a Retention Label might remain accessible to all users with permission, but there is no inherent protection to prevent sensitive information from being copied or shared externally. Therefore, while Retention Labels are important for compliance management, they are not sufficient for protecting sensitive content.
Conditional Access governs access to applications and services based on factors like user identity, device compliance, location, or risk level. Conditional Access ensures that only approved users or devices can access Microsoft 365 resources, reducing exposure from unauthorized logins or compromised accounts. However, Conditional Access controls access at the application or service level and does not secure the content itself. Once a user is granted access, there are no additional restrictions on how they can use or distribute the content. For sensitive documents that must remain confidential regardless of where they are accessed, Conditional Access alone is not enough to prevent unauthorized sharing or misuse.
Sensitivity Labels provide persistent protection, encryption, and access restrictions applied directly to the document or email itself. They allow organizations to classify content based on sensitivity levels and enforce policies such as encryption, limited access, and restrictions on printing or forwarding. Unlike DLP, Sensitivity Labels protect the content rather than simply monitoring or blocking sharing actions. Unlike Retention Labels, they enforce active security measures rather than just managing the lifecycle of the content. Unlike Conditional Access, they secure the document or email itself, independent of which application is used to access it. Implementing Sensitivity Labels ensures that legal documents remain confidential, secure, and compliant, even if they are shared outside controlled environments. Additionally, automatic or recommended labeling reduces human error, while integration with Microsoft 365 reporting and auditing tools allows administrators to monitor compliance, detect policy violations, and demonstrate regulatory adherence. By embedding protection directly into the content, Sensitivity Labels provide a comprehensive, persistent solution for safeguarding highly sensitive information while still enabling authorized collaboration.
Question 216:
You want to prevent employees from accidentally sharing sensitive HR documents externally while maintaining internal collaboration. Which feature should you implement?
A) Data Loss Prevention
B) Sensitivity Labels
C) Retention Labels
D) Conditional Access
Answer: A
Explanation:
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) in Microsoft 365 allows organizations to detect and prevent the accidental or unauthorized sharing of sensitive HR documents. DLP policies can identify content containing personally identifiable information (PII), payroll information, or performance reviews using predefined sensitive information types or custom patterns. When a user attempts to share restricted content externally through Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, or email, the policy can block the action, display a policy tip, and optionally notify administrators.
DLP policies can be scoped to specific departments, roles, or users, providing granular control over content protection. Reporting features track incidents, evaluate policy effectiveness, and identify trends or repeat violations. Temporary overrides with justification maintain business continuity while enforcing security.
Sensitivity Labels encrypt content and restrict access, but do not block accidental external sharing in real time. Retention Labels enforce preservation schedules but cannot prevent sharing. Conditional Access controls access based on identity, device, or location but does not inspect content.
DLP is the correct solution because it actively monitors content sharing, prevents accidental leaks, educates users, and provides alerts to administrators. Unlike Sensitivity Labels, it focuses on behavior rather than just content security; unlike Retention Labels, it enforces real-time protection; and unlike Conditional Access, it protects content itself rather than controlling application access.
Question 217:
You need to preserve emails and Teams messages for regulatory compliance and prevent deletion. Which feature should you implement?
A) eDiscovery Legal Hold
B) Retention Labels
C) Data Loss Prevention
D) Communication Compliance
Answer: A
Explanation:
eDiscovery Legal Hold allows organizations to preserve emails, Teams messages, SharePoint files, and OneDrive content relevant to regulatory compliance or investigations. Once applied, Legal Hold prevents users from deleting or modifying content, maintaining integrity and defensibility. Legal Hold can target specific users, groups, or repositories to minimize disruption to unrelated content. Detailed audit logs capture all activity, supporting compliance and legal defensibility.
Integration across Microsoft 365 workloads ensures full coverage of communication channels, collaboration files, and document repositories. Legal Hold also allows content export in a structured, defensible manner for review by auditors or compliance teams.
Retention Labels preserve content based on a schedule but are not investigation-specific and cannot prevent deletion for compliance purposes. DLP monitors sensitive content sharing but does not preserve content. Communication Compliance monitors communications for policy violations, but does not prevent deletion.
eDiscovery Legal Hold is the correct solution because it preserves relevant content, prevents deletion, maintains audit trails, and ensures regulatory compliance. Unlike Retention Labels, it is case-specific. Unlike DLP, it secures content rather than blocking sharing. Unlike Communication Compliance, it preserves evidence rather than monitoring behavior.
Question 218:
You want to detect employees attempting to exfiltrate confidential project files to personal cloud storage. Which feature should you implement?
A) Insider Risk Management
B) Data Loss Prevention
C) Sensitivity Labels
D) Retention Labels
Answer: A
Explanation:
Insider Risk Management in Microsoft 365 identifies and mitigates risky employee behavior, including attempts to exfiltrate confidential project files to personal cloud storage or external locations. Using machine learning, behavioral analytics, and anomaly detection, it monitors user activity across OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, and Exchange to detect unusual patterns such as bulk downloads, unauthorized file access, or attempts to bypass security controls. Risk scores are generated for users, and alerts are sent to compliance or security teams.
Contextual information about user activity, file access, and history helps differentiate between malicious, accidental, or benign behavior. Policies can be scoped by department, role, or content type to align monitoring with organizational requirements. Proactive alerts allow timely intervention, reducing the risk of data exfiltration and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Data Loss Prevention can block sharing, but does not evaluate behavior or assign risk scores over time. Sensitivity Labels protect content but do not detect risky behavior. Retention Labels preserve content but cannot monitor insider threats.
Insider Risk Management is the correct solution because it monitors behavior, identifies risky actions, generates actionable alerts, and enables proactive mitigation. Unlike DLP, it is behavior-focused; unlike Sensitivity Labels, it monitors activity rather than securing content; unlike Retention Labels, it is proactive rather than lifecycle-based.
Question 219:
You want to enforce temporary activation for privileged administrative roles with approval workflows. Which feature should you implement?
A) Privileged Access Management
B) Conditional Access
C) Identity Protection
D) Data Loss Prevention
Answer: A
Explanation:
Privileged Access Management (PAM) allows organizations to enforce just-in-time activation for administrative roles. Administrators request temporary elevated access with a business justification. PAM integrates approval workflows, multi-factor authentication, and auditing for accountability and compliance.
Integration with Azure AD and Microsoft 365 workloads ensures consistent enforcement across Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive. Audit logs track all privileged actions, including requests, approvals, and activities performed. Role-specific workflows add oversight for high-risk or critical roles, minimizing misuse risk. PAM aligns with zero-trust principles by reducing standing privileges and limiting attack surfaces.
Conditional Access controls access based on device, location, or identity, but does not manage JIT privileges. Identity Protection detects risky sign-ins but does not control role activation. DLP protects content but does not govern administrative privileges.
Privileged Access Management is correct because it enforces temporary activation, approval workflows, auditing, and reduces standing privilege risks. Unlike Conditional Access, it manages privileged workflows; unlike Identity Protection, it governs role activation; unlike DLP, it controls administrative actions rather than content.
Question 220:
You want to classify and encrypt all sensitive marketing strategy documents stored in SharePoint and OneDrive. Which feature should you implement?
A) Sensitivity Labels
B) Data Loss Prevention
C) Retention Labels
D) Conditional Access
Answer: A
Explanation:
Sensitivity Labels in Microsoft 365 allow organizations to classify and protect sensitive marketing strategy documents by applying encryption, access restrictions, and usage limitations. When applied, these labels can restrict access to authorized users, prevent printing, copying, or sharing externally, and enforce encryption to protect content. Labels can be applied manually by users or automatically through content inspection, keyword analysis, or predefined sensitive information types, ensuring consistent application across SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and Exchange Online.
Persistent protection ensures that security controls remain effective even if documents are downloaded or shared outside the organization. Administrators can monitor document access, detect unauthorized attempts to open or modify content, and generate compliance reports. Recommended labeling reduces human error and helps enforce corporate policies consistently.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) can block sensitive content from being shared, but does not encrypt or restrict access within the document itself. Retention Labels preserve or delete content according to policies, but do not protect documents from unauthorized access. Conditional Access controls access to applications based on identity, device, or location, but does not secure the content directly.
Sensitivity Labels are the correct solution because they enforce persistent classification, encryption, and access restrictions. Unlike DLP, they protect content itself rather than merely monitoring sharing; unlike Retention Labels, they focus on security rather than lifecycle management; and unlike Conditional Access, they secure the document rather than controlling application access. Implementing Sensitivity Labels ensures sensitive marketing strategy documents remain confidential, compliant, and secure while enabling authorized collaboration.
Question 221:
You want to prevent employees from accidentally sharing sensitive HR documents externally while allowing internal collaboration. Which feature should you implement?
A) Data Loss Prevention
B) Sensitivity Labels
C) Retention Labels
D) Conditional Access
Answer: A
Explanation:
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) in Microsoft 365 monitors and prevents accidental or unauthorized sharing of sensitive HR documents. Policies can detect content containing personally identifiable information (PII), payroll details, or performance reviews using predefined sensitive information types or custom patterns. When a user attempts to share restricted content externally via Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, or email, DLP can block the action, provide a policy tip to educate the user, and optionally notify administrators.
DLP can be tailored by department, role, or user group, providing granular control and alignment with organizational compliance requirements. Reporting and analytics allow administrators to track incidents, review trends, improve policies, or provide training. Temporary overrides with justification maintain flexibility while enforcing security.
Sensitivity Labels encrypt and restrict content but do not prevent external sharing in real time. Retention Labels enforce preservation schedules but cannot block sharing. Conditional Access controls application access based on identity, device, or location, but does not inspect content for sensitive information.
DLP is the correct solution because it actively monitors content sharing, enforces restrictions, educates users, and provides administrative alerts. Unlike Sensitivity Labels, it is behavior-focused; unlike Retention Labels, it enforces real-time protection; and unlike Conditional Access, it protects content itself rather than controlling application access. Implementing DLP ensures sensitive HR documents remain secure while enabling internal collaboration.
Question 222:
You need to preserve emails and Teams messages for regulatory compliance and prevent deletion. Which feature should you implement?
A) eDiscovery Legal Hold
B) Retention Labels
C) Data Loss Prevention
D) Communication Compliance
Answer: A
Explanation:
eDiscovery Legal Hold preserves emails, Teams messages, SharePoint documents, and OneDrive files relevant to regulatory compliance or investigations. Once applied, Legal Hold prevents users from deleting or modifying content, ensuring integrity and defensibility. Legal Hold can target specific users, groups, or repositories to minimize impact on unrelated content. Detailed audit logs capture all activity, supporting compliance and legal defensibility.
Integration across Microsoft 365 workloads ensures comprehensive coverage, including emails, collaboration files, and document repositories. Legal Hold also allows exporting content for structured, defensible review by auditors or compliance teams.
Retention Labels preserve content according to schedules but are not investigation-specific and cannot prevent deletion. DLP monitors share but do not preserve content. Communication Compliance monitors communications for policy violations, but does not prevent deletion.
eDiscovery Legal Hold is correct because it preserves relevant content, prevents deletion, maintains audit trails, and ensures regulatory compliance. Unlike Retention Labels, it is case-specific; unlike DLP, it preserves content rather than blocking sharing; unlike Communication Compliance, it preserves evidence rather than monitoring behavior.
Question 223:
You want to detect employees attempting to exfiltrate confidential product designs to external cloud accounts. Which feature should you implement?
A) Insider Risk Management
B) Data Loss Prevention
C) Sensitivity Labels
D) Retention Labels
Answer: A
Explanation:
Insider Risk Management identifies and mitigates risky behavior, including attempts to exfiltrate confidential product designs to external cloud storage. It uses behavioral analytics, machine learning, and anomaly detection to monitor user activity across OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, and Exchange. Activities such as bulk downloads, unauthorized file access, or attempts to bypass security policies trigger risk scoring. Alerts are generated for compliance or security teams for investigation.
Contextual information about user activity, content accessed, and history helps differentiate malicious, accidental, or benign behavior. Policies can be scoped by department, role, or content type. Proactive alerts allow timely intervention, mitigating the risk of data exfiltration and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Data Loss Prevention blocks sharing but does not evaluate behavior over time. Sensitivity Labels protect content but do not detect risky actions. Retention Labels preserve content but do not monitor insider threats.
Insider Risk Management is the correct solution because it monitors behavior, identifies risky actions, generates alerts, and allows proactive mitigation. Unlike DLP, it is behavior-focused; unlike Sensitivity Labels, it monitors actions rather than securing content; unlike Retention Labels, it is proactive rather than lifecycle-based.
Question 224:
You want to enforce temporary activation for privileged administrative roles with approval workflows. Which feature should you implement?
A) Privileged Access Management
B) Conditional Access
C) Identity Protection
D) Data Loss Prevention
Answer: A
Explanation:
Privileged Access Management (PAM) in Microsoft 365 enables organizations to implement just-in-time (JIT) activation of administrative roles, ensuring that elevated privileges are granted only when necessary and for a limited duration. Administrators request temporary access to perform specific tasks, providing a business justification that aligns with organizational policies and compliance requirements. This temporary activation significantly reduces the risk associated with standing administrative privileges, which are often targeted by attackers to gain broad access to systems and sensitive information. By limiting the time window during which elevated rights are active, PAM decreases the attack surface and supports zero-trust security principles, which assume that no user or device should be inherently trusted.
PAM integrates approval workflows that allow managers, security officers, or designated approvers to evaluate requests before elevated privileges are granted. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds a layer of verification, ensuring that the individual requesting access is properly authenticated. All actions are logged, including the initial request, the approval or denial, and the activities performed during the elevated session. These audit logs provide accountability, enable forensic analysis in case of security incidents, and help organizations meet regulatory compliance obligations. Role-specific workflows can also be configured for high-risk or sensitive roles, adding extra layers of oversight to minimize the possibility of misuse or accidental misconfiguration.
Integration with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) and Microsoft 365 workloads ensures consistent enforcement of PAM policies across core collaboration platforms, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive for Business. For example, an administrator requiring elevated access to SharePoint configuration settings can request JIT activation through PAM, receive approval, complete the task, and have their elevated privileges automatically revoked after the designated time period. This process provides seamless operational efficiency while maintaining strict governance over critical administrative functions. By applying PAM consistently across workloads, organizations reduce the risk of privilege escalation, insider threats, and potential security breaches stemming from mismanaged administrative access.
Conditional Access is an important security control that evaluates access based on device health, location, or user identity, but it does not manage JIT administrative privileges or govern temporary elevated access. Identity Protection identifies risky sign-ins and potential compromised accounts, but does not provide the ability to activate or restrict roles temporarily. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) protects sensitive content by monitoring and restricting sharing, but it does not control administrative privileges or the use of elevated roles. PAM complements these tools by focusing specifically on privileged accounts, ensuring that access to critical systems is tightly controlled and monitored in accordance with organizational security policies.
Implementing PAM ensures that organizations follow least-privilege principles, granting administrative rights only when necessary and for defined durations. It enforces structured approval workflows, provides comprehensive auditing of elevated sessions, and reduces the risks associated with standing privileges. By aligning with zero-trust strategies, PAM mitigates the likelihood of internal misuse or external attacks leveraging administrator accounts. Unlike Conditional Access, PAM directly governs privileged workflows rather than general access; unlike Identity Protection, it controls the activation of roles rather than detecting account risks; and unlike DLP, it focuses on administrative actions instead of content protection.
Furthermore, PAM enhances operational transparency by providing detailed reporting and insights into administrative activity. Security and compliance teams can track who requested elevated access, what approvals were granted, and what tasks were performed during the privileged session. This level of visibility is critical for audits, incident response, and continuous improvement of security practices. By implementing Privileged Access Management in Microsoft 365, organizations can confidently manage administrative privileges, reduce the risk of over-provisioned access, enforce accountability, and strengthen their overall security posture, ensuring that critical workloads and sensitive data remain protected at all times.
Question 225:
You want to classify and protect all corporate intellectual property with encryption and access restrictions. Which feature should you implement?
A) Sensitivity Labels
B) Data Loss Prevention
C) Retention Labels
D) Conditional Access
Answer: A
Explanation:
Sensitivity Labels allow classification and protection of corporate intellectual property stored in SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and Exchange. Labels enforce encryption, restrict access, and limit actions such as printing, copying, or sharing externally. Labels can be applied manually by users or automatically through content inspection, keywords, or predefined sensitive information types.
Persistent protection ensures that documents remain secure even if they are downloaded or shared outside the organization’s controlled environment. When a document is protected by a Sensitivity Label, encryption travels with the content itself, ensuring that only authorized users can access it. Even if the file is sent to an external recipient or saved on a local device, the protection policies remain enforced. This persistent security model provides organizations with confidence that sensitive information—such as corporate intellectual property, legal agreements, or confidential financial data—remains protected regardless of where it travels. Additionally, access restrictions can be customized to allow viewing, editing, or printing only to specific users or groups, while preventing forwarding, copying, or screenshots where needed.
Administrators can monitor access to labeled content through Microsoft 365 compliance and security tools, enabling detailed auditing and reporting. Unauthorized attempts to open or modify protected documents are logged, allowing security teams to respond to potential breaches or misuse promptly. This visibility not only helps mitigate risk but also supports compliance with regulatory requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, or industry-specific standards. Organizations can also generate compliance reports that demonstrate adherence to internal policies and regulatory mandates, which is critical for audits, investigations, and legal defense.
Recommended labeling guides users in applying the correct Sensitivity Label to content, reducing errors and ensuring policy compliance. For example, a user attempting to upload a confidential financial report to SharePoint may receive a suggested label based on content analysis. This minimizes human error, reinforces organizational policies, and ensures that sensitive information is consistently protected. Automatic labeling can also be configured for certain types of content, further reducing reliance on users and increasing the overall security posture.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) provides a mechanism to block or warn about sensitive content being shared externally, but it does not embed encryption or enforce access restrictions within the document. DLP focuses primarily on detecting and preventing leakage, rather than securing the content itself. While DLP is effective for monitoring user behavior and enforcing sharing policies, it cannot prevent misuse by authorized users or protect content that has left the organization’s environment.
Retention Labels enforce lifecycle management by preserving or deleting content according to organizational or regulatory policies, but they do not inherently secure content. They ensure data is retained for compliance or legal reasons and removed when no longer required, but they do not restrict who can access, copy, or share the content during its lifecycle.
Conditional Access controls access to applications and services based on identity, device compliance, location, or risk signals. While it prevents unauthorized access at the application level, it does not protect the content itself. Once a user gains access, there are no intrinsic restrictions on how the content is used or shared, leaving sensitive information vulnerable.
Sensitivity Labels are the correct solution because they enforce encryption, classification, and access control directly on the content, independent of the platform or location. Unlike DLP, they secure the document itself rather than merely monitoring or restricting sharing attempts. Unlike Retention Labels, they actively protect content rather than simply managing its lifecycle. Unlike Conditional Access, they ensure the content remains secure even outside the organization, rather than controlling access to the application only. Implementing Sensitivity Labels ensures corporate intellectual property, legal documents, and other sensitive information remain confidential, compliant, and secure while enabling authorized collaboration. The persistent nature of this protection, combined with monitoring and compliance reporting, provides a comprehensive approach to safeguarding organizational assets, mitigating risk, and meeting regulatory requirements.