SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions
A company wants to classify and label data in Microsoft SharePoint Online automatically based on content containing passport numbers. Which Microsoft Purview feature should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse DLP policies with auto-labeling, but DLP policies focus on protecting data through actions like blocking or alerting, not on automatically applying classification labels.
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 policy
Auto-labeling policies in Microsoft Purview can automatically apply sensitivity labels to documents in SharePoint Online based on sensitive information types, such as passport numbers. This enables automatic classification and labeling without manual intervention, meeting the requirement to label data based on content.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Audit log
Why it's wrong here
Audit logs record user and admin activities within Microsoft 365 services, such as file access, modifications, or policy changes. They are crucial for forensic investigations and compliance reporting by providing an immutable record of "who did what, when, and where," but they do not actively classify or apply labels to data. Their function is purely observational and historical, focusing on tracking events rather than content categorization.
- ✗
Data classification dashboard
Why it's wrong here
The Data classification dashboard in Microsoft Purview provides an aggregated view of an organization's data landscape, showing statistics on classified items, sensitive info types detected, and label usage across various locations. While it offers valuable insights into where sensitive data resides and how it's being protected, it is fundamentally a reporting and monitoring tool, not an enforcement mechanism that applies labels to content.
- ✗
Data loss prevention (DLP) policy
Why it's wrong here
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies are designed to identify, monitor, and protect sensitive information across various locations by preventing its unauthorized sharing or transfer. DLP policies can block, warn, or encrypt content based on its sensitivity or the presence of specific sensitive information types, but they do not inherently apply sensitivity labels to documents or emails themselves; they react to existing content or labels, or block actions based on content analysis.
- ✓
Auto-labeling policy
Why this is correct
Auto-labeling policies, configured within Microsoft Purview, automatically apply sensitivity labels to content at rest (e.g., in SharePoint, OneDrive) or in transit (e.g., Exchange email) based on specific conditions. These conditions often include the presence of sensitive information types (SITs), keywords, or trainable classifiers, ensuring consistent and scalable data classification without requiring manual user intervention. This directly addresses the need to classify and label data automatically.
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Microsoft Entra ID
Key term
Microsoft Purview
Microsoft Purview is a unified data governance and compliance service that helps organizations discover, manage, and protect their data across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
Key term
Labels
Labels are descriptive text or tags attached to IT resources to organize, identify, and manage them based on attributes like purpose, environment, or owner.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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