MS-900 Practice Question: Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365
This MS-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in microsoft 365. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A compliance officer needs to automatically label and encrypt documents that contain personally identifiable information (PII) when they are saved in SharePoint. The labeling should happen without manual user intervention. Which Microsoft Purview feature should they configure?
Correct. Auto-labeling policies for sensitivity labels can automatically apply labels (including encryption) to documents containing sensitive content like PII.
B
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy
Why wrong: DLP policies detect and block/unencrypt sharing but do not apply labels or encryption to documents at rest.
C
Retention labels
Why wrong: Retention labels are used for managing data retention and deletion, not for classification and encryption.
D
Communication Compliance
Why wrong: Communication Compliance monitors communications (email, Teams) for policy violations, not documents at rest.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Sensitivity labels (auto-labeling policy)
Sensitivity labels with auto-labeling policies in Microsoft Purview can automatically detect and classify documents containing PII when they are saved in SharePoint, and apply encryption based on the label configuration. This meets the requirement of automatic, user-intervention-free labeling and encryption by scanning content for sensitive data types (e.g., Social Security numbers) and applying the label at rest.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Sensitivity labels (auto-labeling policy)
Why this is correct
Correct. Auto-labeling policies for sensitivity labels can automatically apply labels (including encryption) to documents containing sensitive content like PII.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy
Why it's wrong here
DLP policies detect and block/unencrypt sharing but do not apply labels or encryption to documents at rest.
✗
Retention labels
Why it's wrong here
Retention labels are used for managing data retention and deletion, not for classification and encryption.
✗
Communication Compliance
Why it's wrong here
Communication Compliance monitors communications (email, Teams) for policy violations, not documents at rest.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing auto-labeling with DLP policies, as both deal with sensitive data, but DLP focuses on preventing data loss during transit or sharing, not on automatic classification and encryption of stored documents.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Auto-labeling policies use the Microsoft 365 built-in sensitive information types (e.g., U.S. Social Security Number) or trainable classifiers to scan content in SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange. When a match is found, the policy applies a sensitivity label that can enforce encryption via Azure Information Protection (AIP) rights management, using AES-256 for encryption. A subtle behavior is that auto-labeling for SharePoint at rest requires the policy to be configured for 'simulation' mode first to test detection before enforcing labeling.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this MS-900 question in full detail.
Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365 — This question tests Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365 — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Sensitivity labels (auto-labeling policy) — Sensitivity labels with auto-labeling policies in Microsoft Purview can automatically detect and classify documents containing PII when they are saved in SharePoint, and apply encryption based on the label configuration. This meets the requirement of automatic, user-intervention-free labeling and encryption by scanning content for sensitive data types (e.g., Social Security numbers) and applying the label at rest.
What should I do if I get this MS-900 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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