SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions
Your organization, Fabrikam Inc., uses Microsoft 365 and has Microsoft Purview licensed. You need to implement a compliance solution to monitor and prevent the sharing of confidential financial data via email. Specifically, you want to: (1) Detect when users send emails containing financial account numbers (e.g., credit card numbers) to external recipients. (2) Automatically block such emails with a policy tip notifying the sender. (3) Allow the sender to override the block if they provide a business justification. (4) Create a report of all blocked emails for compliance review. Which Microsoft Purview feature should you 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 Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies can detect sensitive information in emails and apply actions such as block with policy tip and allow override with justification. DLP also provides incident reports. Option A (Communication Compliance) is for communication monitoring, not data protection. Option B (Message Encryption) is for email encryption, not blocking. Option D (Data Lifecycle Management) is for retention, not real-time blocking.
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 Communication Compliance
Why it's wrong here
Communication Compliance detects and reviews potentially inappropriate messages after they are sent, using classifiers and reviewers; it neither blocks email in transit nor offers sender override with justification. It is tempting because it targets policy violations in communications, but that fits post-hoc monitoring and investigation rather than real-time prevention of outbound financial data.
- ✗
Microsoft Purview Message Encryption
Why it's wrong here
Message Encryption encrypts email content so only intended recipients can read it; it does not inspect message contents for financial account numbers, block delivery, or present a policy tip with override. It is tempting because it protects sensitive email in transit, which suits confidentiality requirements, not detection and blocking of outbound data-sharing violations.
- ✓
Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Why this is correct
Data Loss Prevention inspects email content for sensitive information types such as credit card numbers, blocks external sends, shows policy tips, permits business-justification overrides, and logs incidents for reporting. This satisfies all four requirements within Microsoft Purview without additional configuration.
- ✗
Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management
Why it's wrong here
Data Lifecycle Management retains, labels and deletes content according to retention schedules; it does not scan email for financial account numbers, block transmission, or log blocked messages. It is tempting because it governs sensitive data across Microsoft 365, but that fits retention and disposal obligations rather than preventing outbound email exfiltration in real time.
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Defender Vulnerability Management Basics
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
Data lifecycle management
Data lifecycle management is the process of managing data from its creation to its deletion, ensuring it is stored, used, and disposed of in a way that meets security, compliance, and business needs.
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on SC-900
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A healthcare organization uses Microsoft 365 and wants to prevent users from sending emails that contain patient health information (PHI) to external recipients. Which Microsoft Purview solution should they implement?
medium- A.Data Lifecycle Management
- ✓ B.Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
- C.Insider Risk Management
- D.eDiscovery
Why B: Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is the correct solution because it is specifically designed to detect and prevent the unauthorized sharing of sensitive data, such as patient health information (PHI), via email and other channels. DLP policies can be configured with sensitive information types (e.g., HIPAA-defined PHI patterns) to automatically block or warn users when they attempt to send such data to external recipients.
Variation 2. An organization uses Microsoft 365. They need to prevent users from sharing credit card numbers in emails and Microsoft Teams messages. When a user attempts to share such sensitive information externally, the message should be blocked and the user should receive a policy tip notification. Which Microsoft Purview solution should they configure?
medium- A.Data Lifecycle Management
- ✓ B.Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
- C.Insider Risk Management
- D.Information Protection
Why B: Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is the correct solution because it is specifically designed to detect and protect sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, through deep content analysis using built-in sensitive information types. DLP policies can be configured to block the sharing of this data in emails and Microsoft Teams messages and to display a policy tip notification to the user, enforcing compliance in real time.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SC-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 SC-900 exam.