AZ-305 Design infrastructure solutions Practice Question
Your organization uses Microsoft Purview to govern data assets across Azure SQL Database, Azure Data Lake Storage, and on-premises SQL Server. You need to ensure that sensitive data such as credit card numbers are automatically detected and classified. What should you configure in Microsoft Purview?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse the Data Catalog's metadata discovery with automatic content classification, not realizing that classification requires explicit rules to scan and identify sensitive data patterns.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Data classification rules
Microsoft Purview's data classification rules are specifically designed to automatically detect and classify sensitive data like credit card numbers across data sources. By configuring classification rules, you define patterns (e.g., regex for credit card numbers) that Purview scans against assets in Azure SQL Database, Azure Data Lake Storage, and on-premises SQL Server, applying sensitivity labels accordingly.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Data share
Why it's wrong here
Data Share in Microsoft Purview is designed for sharing data assets externally with partners or customers, enabling controlled access to data that is already classified. It does not perform any detection or classification of sensitive data itself; instead, it operates on data that has already been governed and classified by other Purview components. Therefore, selecting Data Share would not enable automatic identification of sensitive information, making it incorrect for this requirement.
- ✗
Data catalog
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft Purview Data Catalog serves as a centralized metadata repository that enables data discovery, search, and governance by cataloging data assets and their schemas. While it can display classifications and sensitivity labels, it does not itself perform content scanning or pattern-based detection of sensitive data; classification rules are executed by the scanning and classification engine. Thus, relying solely on Data Catalog would not meet the requirement to detect and classify sensitive data automatically.
- ✗
Data lineage mapping
Why it's wrong here
Data lineage mapping in Microsoft Purview visualizes the origin and transformation history of data assets as they flow through various processes, enabling impact analysis and auditing. It captures metadata about data movement and transformations but does not examine the actual content of data to identify sensitive patterns like credit card numbers or personal identifiers. Therefore, lineage mapping is unrelated to sensitive data detection and cannot be used to classify data based on its content.
- ✓
Data classification rules
Why this is correct
Microsoft Purview's data classification rules are explicitly designed to automatically scan data assets for sensitive information by applying pattern matching (e.g., regex for credit card numbers, social security numbers, or custom patterns) and then assigning classifications such as 'Credit Card Number' or 'PII.' These rules are executed during the data scanning process, allowing organizations to identify and manage sensitive data across their landscape. This is the correct mechanism for automatically detecting and classifying sensitive data, aligning with the requirement.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
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