SC-100 Practice Question: Design security solutions for applications and data
Which TWO Microsoft Purview features can be used to classify and label data in Microsoft 365?
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
✓
Auto-labeling policies
Auto-labeling policies (C) are a Microsoft Purview Information Protection capability that automatically applies sensitivity labels to content by scanning items for sensitive data, so they directly classify and label data in Microsoft 365. Sensitive info types (E) are the pattern-based classifiers (for example, credit card or national ID patterns) that define what sensitive data looks like and are used by auto-labeling and other Purview rules to classify data. Retention policies (A) govern how long content is kept or deleted rather than classifying or labeling it, eDiscovery (B) is used for identifying and collecting content for legal cases, and Audit logs (D) record user and admin activity for investigation and compliance reporting, so none of these three perform classification or labeling.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Retention policies
Why it's wrong here
Retention policies in Microsoft Purview are lifecycle management controls that dictate how long content is kept and when it is deleted, based on rules such as location, age, or content type. They do not inspect the content itself to identify patterns, sensitive information, or categories, so they cannot perform classification or assign sensitivity labels to documents and emails.
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eDiscovery
Why it's wrong here
eDiscovery in Microsoft Purview is designed for legal investigations and compliance requests, allowing you to search, hold, and export content from mailboxes, sites, and Teams. While eDiscovery can find content matching certain keywords, it does not automatically analyze data to detect patterns like credit card numbers or apply sensitivity labels, making it a search-and-collection tool rather than a classification mechanism.
- ✓
Auto-labeling policies
Why this is correct
Auto-labeling policies in Microsoft Purview automatically apply sensitivity labels to documents and emails when they meet specified conditions, such as containing sensitive info types or matching trainable classifiers. These policies can run in simulation mode to test their impact, then be configured to auto-apply labels, directly fulfilling the requirement to classify content by labeling it based on detected data characteristics.
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Audit logs
Why it's wrong here
Audit logs in Microsoft Purview record user and administrator activities across Microsoft 365 services, such as when a file was viewed, edited, or had a label applied. They are essential for investigating security incidents and compliance, but they only capture metadata about actions that have already occurred, never examining content to identify or categorize sensitive information.
- ✓
Sensitive info types
Why this is correct
Sensitive info types are built-in or custom pattern detectors in Microsoft Purview that use regular expressions, keywords, checksums, and confidence levels to identify data such as credit card numbers, passport numbers, or social security numbers. When scanned, these types classify content by matching its actual contents against known sensitive-data patterns, providing the foundational detection needed for auto-labeling and DLP policies.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SC-100 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 SC-100 exam.