- A
Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Why wrong: DLP can detect sensitive data and apply actions like blocking or notifying, but to automatically encrypt the email, DLP uses an action that invokes Message Encryption. Message Encryption is the underlying technology that encrypts the email.
- B
Microsoft Purview Message Encryption
Message Encryption allows sending encrypted emails to any recipient and supports secure reply without separate sign-up. It can be triggered automatically by a DLP policy when sensitive data is detected.
- C
Microsoft Purview Information Protection (sensitivity labels)
Why wrong: Sensitivity labels can be applied manually or automatically to emails, but they rely on the recipient's ability to read protected messages. Message Encryption is specifically designed for sending encrypted emails to external users without requiring them to have Microsoft Entra ID accounts.
- D
Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Why wrong: Defender for Office 365 provides anti-phishing, anti-malware, and safe attachments, but does not directly provide email encryption capabilities.
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 team needs to ensure that any email sent from the Finance department that contains a bank account number is automatically encrypted. External recipients must be able to reply securely without needing to sign up for any service. Which Microsoft Purview solution should they configure?
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
Microsoft Purview Message Encryption
Microsoft Purview Message Encryption (B) is the correct solution because it allows the organization to automatically encrypt emails based on conditions (e.g., emails from Finance containing bank account numbers) and enables external recipients to reply securely using the encrypted reply portal without requiring any sign-up or additional software. This is achieved through Azure Rights Management (Azure RMS) and the Office 365 Message Encryption (OME) portal, which provides a seamless, browser-based experience for external users.
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.
- ✗
Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Why it's wrong here
DLP can detect sensitive data and apply actions like blocking or notifying, but to automatically encrypt the email, DLP uses an action that invokes Message Encryption. Message Encryption is the underlying technology that encrypts the email.
- ✓
Microsoft Purview Message Encryption
Why this is correct
Message Encryption allows sending encrypted emails to any recipient and supports secure reply without separate sign-up. It can be triggered automatically by a DLP policy when sensitive data is detected.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Microsoft Purview Information Protection (sensitivity labels)
Why it's wrong here
Sensitivity labels can be applied manually or automatically to emails, but they rely on the recipient's ability to read protected messages. Message Encryption is specifically designed for sending encrypted emails to external users without requiring them to have Microsoft Entra ID accounts.
- ✗
Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Why it's wrong here
Defender for Office 365 provides anti-phishing, anti-malware, and safe attachments, but does not directly provide email encryption capabilities.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the automatic encryption trigger in DLP policies with the actual encryption mechanism, forgetting that DLP alone cannot encrypt emails or provide the secure reply portal—those capabilities require Message Encryption (OME) to be configured as the action.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Office 365 Message Encryption (OME) uses Azure Rights Management (Azure RMS) to encrypt emails with AES-256 and then wraps them in an HTML attachment that redirects the recipient to the OME portal for decryption and secure reply. The secure reply feature leverages a separate encrypted message thread stored in the sender's tenant, allowing external recipients to respond without needing any Microsoft account or client software. A real-world scenario is a finance team sending quarterly payment notifications to vendors; OME ensures the bank account numbers are encrypted in transit and at rest, and the vendor can reply with their own sensitive information through the same encrypted channel.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this MS-900 question test?
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: Microsoft Purview Message Encryption — Microsoft Purview Message Encryption (B) is the correct solution because it allows the organization to automatically encrypt emails based on conditions (e.g., emails from Finance containing bank account numbers) and enables external recipients to reply securely using the encrypted reply portal without requiring any sign-up or additional software. This is achieved through Azure Rights Management (Azure RMS) and the Office 365 Message Encryption (OME) portal, which provides a seamless, browser-based experience for external users.
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.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This MS-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the MS-900 exam.
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