Microsoft SC-401 Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365 Exam Practice Test

To implement insider risk management for users managing sensitive project data while minimizing the impact on other users and reducing administrative effort, you should first create a security group in Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).

Security groups allow you to scope insider risk management policies to specific users instead of applying policies to all users, which helps in minimizing unnecessary alerts and reducing administrative overhead. After creating the security group, you can assign this group to a Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management policy, ensuring that only project-related users are affected.

The issue where users sometimes can upload files to cloud services and sometimes cannot suggests inconsistent enforcement of Endpoint DLP policies. This can be caused by the unallowed browsers in the Microsoft 365 Endpoint DLP settings are NOT configured. Also, there are file path exclusions in the Microsoft 365 Endpoint DLP settings.

Endpoint DLP can block uploads only when using unallowed browsers. If unallowed browsers are not configured, users might be able to bypass restrictions by switching to a different browser. This could explain why uploads sometimes work and sometimes don’t, depending on which browser is used.

File path exclusions allow certain files or folders to be exempt from DLP restrictions. If a specific file location is excluded, files stored there won’t trigger DLP policies, leading to inconsistent behavior. This could result in some uploads being blocked while others are allowed.

To customize encrypted email in Microsoft 365, including adding a company logo, you need to modify the Office Message Encryption (OME) branding settings. The Set-OMEConfiguration PowerShell cmdlet allows you to configure branding elements such as:

● Company logo

● Custom text

● Background color

This cmdlet is used to update existing OME branding settings, ensuring that encrypted emails sent from your organization include the required customizations.

To ensure that Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management can detect file deletions, USB copies, and print actions on sensitive information, you must onboard the Windows 11 devices to Microsoft Purview.

Device onboarding enables endpoint activity monitoring, allowing Purview to track and log user activities such as file deletions, USB transfers, and printing of sensitive files. Once onboarded, the Insider Risk Management policy can analyze these activities and generate risk alerts when sensitive information types (SITs) are involved.

Statement 1 - No. User1 is included in JIT protection. File1.docx is on Device1, which is onboarded to Microsoft Defender. However, File1.docx has not been evaluated for file classification, meaning JIT cannot enforce protection on it. If User2 signs in to Device2 and attempts to attach File2.pdf to an email, JIT will block the action.

Statement 2 - No. User2 is not configured for JIT protection (JIT does not apply to them). File2.pdf has been evaluated for classification, but since User2 is not included in JIT protection, no blocking occurs. If User3 attempts to copy File3.xlsx to a network share, JIT will generate an audit event.

Statement 3 - No. User3 is included in JIT protection. However, Device3 is not onboarded to Microsoft Defender, meaning JIT protection cannot enforce actions on it. File3.xlsx has not been evaluated, so even if the device were onboarded, JIT would not have classification data to act upon.

An activity policy in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps (Microsoft Defender portal) allows you to track and alert on specific user actions, such as sharing sensitive documents externally from OneDrive. This policy can detect file-sharing activities and send alerts when files are shared with external users, which meets the requirement.

In Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management, different Microsoft 365 locations require separate retention policies because they fall under different storage and compliance models.

Teams Chats & Teams Channel Messages (1 Policy) require a separate retention policy because Teams messages are stored differently than Exchange and SharePoint content. One policy can cover both Teams chats and Teams channel messages. Exchange Email (1 Policy) requires its own separate policy since emails are managed differently than Teams or SharePoint content. SharePoint Sites & Microsoft 365 Groups (1 Policy) are both stored in SharePoint Online, so they can be managed under one policy.

Box 1: Insider Risk Management policies in Microsoft Purview can be configured to detect risky behavior, such as accessing phishing websites. These policies monitor user activity, generate alerts, and help organizations investigate potential security threats.

Box 2: Microsoft Defender Browser Protection extension helps in detecting unsafe or phishing websites and integrating this detection with Insider Risk Management policies. This extension works with Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome to identify risky browsing activity and trigger alerts.

You need to define a custom sensitive information type that recognizes the unique 13-digit identifier format for customer records. Microsoft Purview DLP policies use these types to identify and protect sensitive data.

A Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy is required to enforce the rules. It will allow emails with a single identifier but trigger an approval workflow when two or more identifiers are detected.

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 create a document fingerprint in Microsoft 365 Data Loss Prevention (DLP), you need to use PowerShell for Microsoft Purview. The correct cmdlet to connect to the Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance Center (where DLP policies are managed) is Connect-IPPSSession. This cmdlet establishes a PowerShell session to manage DLP policies, compliance settings, and document fingerprinting.

Microsoft Purview browser extensions for Endpoint DLP are supported on:

● Windows 10/11 (Config1)

● macOS (Config2)

● Not supported on Android (Config3)

Since Microsoft Purview does not support browser extensions on Android, Config3 is excluded from both Google Chrome and Firefox.

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:

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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).

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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".

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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.

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.

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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.

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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)

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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:

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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.