Plan for sensitive information types

As part of the SC-400 Microsoft Information Protection Administrator exam, understanding how to plan for these sensitive information types is essential.

Sensitive information types (SITs) are predefined or custom classifications that help identify and protect items like Social Security numbers, credit card information, or other data that may be subject to compliance regulations. Microsoft 365 provides a comprehensive set of SITs, which can be leveraged to detect and take action on sensitive data in your environment.

Identifying Sensitive Information Types

The first step in planning for sensitive information types is to identify what kinds of sensitive information your organization handles. Common SITs include:

• Personal identification numbers (such as Social Security numbers or passport numbers)
• Financial information (like credit card or bank account numbers)
• Health information (such as medical record numbers)
• Business-sensitive information (like confidential project names or trade secrets)

Once these data types have been identified, you can leverage the Microsoft 365 Information Protection capabilities to configure policies that will help detect and protect them.

Building a Sensitive Information Types Policy

A sensitive information types policy contains rules and conditions that help identify sensitive information. Each rule includes:

• Confidence levels, which indicate the likelihood that the detected information matches a defined SIT.
• Proximity and match patterns, which define how close the identified elements must be to each other in the document or email, as well as the pattern they must match.

Here’s an example of such a policy structure:

Organizations can utilize these conditions to fit their specific needs, reducing false positives and ensuring that the right content is protected.

Custom Sensitive Information Types

Out-of-the-box, Microsoft provides a set of built-in SITs, but organizations often operate with unique data that may not be covered by predefined types. In such cases, custom SITs can be created using XML or JSON formatting. These custom SITs allow organizations to define their unique patterns and conditions.

Creating a custom sensitive information type involves:

• Defining a name and description.
• Establishing a pattern for detection based on regex or functions.
• Setting confidence levels and proximity rules.

Here is a simplified example of defining a custom SIT for a unique employee ID format:

<Entity id=”Custom-UniqueEmployeeID” patternsProximity=”300″ recommendedConfidence=”85″>
<Pattern confidenceLevel=”85″>
<IdMatch idRef=”UniqueIdFunction”/>
</Pattern>
</Entity>

In the XML snippet above, we are defining a custom entity with a proximity setting and a pattern that references a function designed to identify a unique ID.

Testing and Validation

Before deploying sensitive information types policies, testing and validation are crucial. Microsoft 365 provides the ability to test these rules with real data samples to determine their effectiveness and adjust them as necessary.

To help facilitate the testing process, administrators can use the data classification section within the Microsoft 365 compliance center to evaluate how existing or newly created SITs work against a set of content samples.

Policy Deployment and Monitoring

Once planning and testing are complete, policies can be deployed to the environment. These policies should be monitored and reviewed regularly to ensure they continue to meet the business requirements and adjust for any changes in regulatory obligations or business operations.

Integration with Information Governance Policies

Sensitive information types are not just used for detection and protection; they also play a significant role in information governance. They can be used in:

• Data loss prevention (DLP) policies to prevent unintentional sharing of sensitive information.
• Retention policies to determine how long sensitive information should be retained.
• Labeling policies to classify content and apply protection actions such as encryption or access restrictions.

In conclusion, planning for sensitive information types within the context of the SC-400 Microsoft Information Protection Administrator exam involves identifying which types of sensitive information are present in the organization, creating or customizing policies and rules to detect and protect this information, and undertaking rigorous testing before deployment. Effective use of Microsoft 365’s Information Protection capabilities ensures that an organization’s sensitive data remains secure and compliant with regulatory standards.