Tutorial / Cram Notes
The Microsoft Purview compliance portal, formerly known as the Microsoft 365 compliance center, is an integral part of Microsoft’s comprehensive compliance solutions designed to help organizations manage and navigate the complex landscape of data governance, protection, and regulatory compliance. It provides the tools and resources necessary for organizations to assess and manage their compliance stance, mitigate risks, and ensure that they meet the various standards and regulations that apply to their industry and region.
The compliance portal offers a range of features organized into solutions that cater to specific areas of compliance:
1. Data Protection and Information Governance
Organizations can leverage the compliance portal to create policies that classify, retain, and protect sensitive information across their digital estate. Some of the key functionalities include:
- Data classification: Automatic or manual identification and labeling of sensitive data.
- Retention policies: Setting rules for how long data should be kept before being disposed of.
- Information governance: Managing the lifecycle of information with policies that control data retention and deletion.
2. Insider Risk Management
Insider risk management tools within the compliance portal help organizations to identify and mitigate risks associated with the actions of their users. This covers possible inadvertent or malicious activities that can compromise data security. Key features include:
- Risk detection policies: Identify potentially risky user behavior through analytics and user activity monitoring.
- Investigation tools: Tools to help investigate and respond to identified risks, including the ability to escalate cases and take remedial action.
3. Compliance Management
The portal provides a Compliance Manager that helps organizations assess their compliance posture against industry standards and regulations, such as GDPR, ISO 27001, and NIST. It also offers:
- Assessment templates: Pre-built and custom templates to assess compliance against specific standards.
- Actionable insights: Recommendations for actions to improve compliance scores and reduce risks.
4. Information Protection and Governance
To protect sensitive data, the portal includes information protection and governance solutions that integrate with Microsoft products like Office 365 and Azure. It offers:
- Sensitivity labels: Labeling content to enforce protection actions such as encryption or access restrictions.
- Data loss prevention (DLP): Policies that prevent the accidental sharing of sensitive information outside the organization.
5. EDiscovery and Auditing
For legal and audit purposes, eDiscovery tools are available in the compliance portal enabling organizations to:
- Search and discover: Locate relevant data quickly across the digital estate for legal cases or investigations.
- Case management: Keep investigative content organized and secure, and manage the entire lifecycle of a legal case.
6. Compliance Score
One of the centerpieces of the portal is the Compliance Score, which provides:
- Dashboard overview: Visual representation of an organization’s compliance posture with a numerical score.
- Improvement actions: Custom recommendations to improve the score and thus the compliance posture of the organization.
By using the Microsoft Purview compliance portal, an organization can have a centralized view and control over its compliance efforts. It’s designed to simplify complex compliance requirements by providing tools that translate regulatory requirements into specific tasks.
The table below provides an overview of key compliance solutions within the Microsoft Purview compliance portal:
| Solution Category | Key Features |
|---|---|
| Data Protection and Information Governance | Data classification, Retention policies, Information governance |
| Insider Risk Management | Risk detection policies, Investigation tools |
| Compliance Management | Assessment templates, Actionable insights |
| Information Protection and Governance | Sensitivity labels, Data loss prevention (DLP) |
| eDiscovery and Auditing | Search and discover, Case management |
| Compliance Score | Dashboard overview, Improvement actions |
In preparation for the SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals exam, understanding the functions and features of the Microsoft Purview compliance portal is crucial. Knowing how to navigate and utilize these tools is essential for managing risks related to data protection, compliance, and security within an organization.
Practice Test with Explanation
True or False: Microsoft Purview compliance portal is designed to help organizations manage their compliance needs across all Microsoft 365 services.
- Answer: True
Microsoft Purview compliance portal is an integrated solution within Microsoft 365 that helps organizations manage compliance across their services.
Which feature is NOT available in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal?
- A. Data governance
- B. Threat protection
- C. Information protection
- D. Insider risk management
- Answer: B. Threat protection
Threat protection is not a feature of the Microsoft Purview compliance portal; it is part of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
True or False: The Microsoft Purview compliance portal can only be used for data stored in Microsoft Azure.
- Answer: False
The Microsoft Purview compliance portal can be used for data across Microsoft 365 services, not just Azure.
Which of the following is a primary function of the Microsoft Purview compliance portal?
- A. Performing data analytics
- B. Managing physical security systems
- C. Assessing and managing compliance risks
- D. Hosting web applications
- Answer: C. Assessing and managing compliance risks
The primary function of the Microsoft Purview compliance portal is to assess and manage compliance risks.
True or False: With Microsoft Purview compliance portal, you can manage data loss prevention (DLP) policies across Microsoft 365 services.
- Answer: True
Microsoft Purview compliance portal provides the capability to manage DLP policies across Microsoft 365 services.
Microsoft Purview compliance portal’s information protection feature supports which of the following?
- A. Encrypting emails only
- B. Classifying and protecting documents and emails
- C. Deploying antivirus software
- D. Monitoring network traffic
- Answer: B. Classifying and protecting documents and emails
The information protection feature in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal helps classify and protect documents and emails.
True or False: The Microsoft Purview compliance portal includes a solution for managing insider risks and detecting potential malicious activities.
- Answer: True
The Microsoft Purview compliance portal includes an insider risk management solution to identify and manage potential malicious activities.
Which regulation’s compliance can be managed using the Microsoft Purview compliance portal?
- A. GDPR
- B. HIPAA
- C. Both A and B
- D. None of the above
- Answer: C. Both A and B
The Microsoft Purview compliance portal can manage compliance for many regulations, including GDPR and HIPAA.
True or False: The Microsoft Purview compliance portal is available exclusively to Enterprise customers.
- Answer: False
Microsoft Purview compliance portal is available to various customers, not just Enterprise customers, although some features may depend on the licensing agreement.
The Microsoft Purview compliance portal allows for the creation of custom compliance solutions tailored to an organization’s specific needs.
- A. True
- B. False
- Answer: A. True
Microsoft Purview compliance portal provides flexibility to create custom compliance solutions to meet specific organizational needs.
In the Microsoft Purview compliance portal, who typically uses the compliance manager feature?
- A. Security administrators
- B. Compliance officers
- C. Developers
- D. Sales personnel
- Answer: B. Compliance officers
Compliance officers typically use the compliance manager in Microsoft Purview compliance portal to manage compliance tasks and documentation.
True or False: E-discovery and audit functionalities are a part of the Microsoft Purview compliance portal offerings.
- Answer: True
E-discovery and audit are functionalities included in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal to support investigations and compliance checks.
Interview Questions
What is the Microsoft 365 Compliance center?
The Microsoft 365 Compliance center is a web-based console that provides organizations with a centralized location to manage compliance and risk management across Microsoft 365 services.
What are some of the compliance features available in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center?
The Microsoft 365 Compliance center provides several compliance features such as Data loss prevention (DLP), Retention policies, eDiscovery, Labeling, and Microsoft Information Protection.
What is the purpose of the Microsoft 365 Compliance center?
The Microsoft 365 Compliance center is designed to help organizations manage their compliance obligations, assess risk, and protect their sensitive data.
What is Microsoft Compliance Manager?
Microsoft Compliance Manager is a tool within the Microsoft 365 Compliance center that helps organizations assess and manage their compliance risks across various regulatory standards.
What are some of the regulatory standards supported by Microsoft Compliance Manager?
Microsoft Compliance Manager supports several regulatory standards such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), ISO 27001, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework.
What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Compliance center and Microsoft Compliance Manager?
Microsoft 365 Compliance center is a console that provides organizations with a centralized location to manage compliance across Microsoft 365 services, while Microsoft Compliance Manager is a tool within the Compliance center that helps organizations assess and manage their compliance risks.
What is a data classification in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center?
Data classification is a compliance feature in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center that allows organizations to identify, classify, and protect their sensitive data.
What is the purpose of eDiscovery in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center?
The eDiscovery feature in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center is designed to help organizations identify, preserve, collect, review, and export electronically stored information (ESI) for legal and regulatory purposes.
What is the purpose of retention policies in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center?
Retention policies in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center help organizations to keep and protect their data for a specified period of time to meet regulatory requirements or business needs.
What is the purpose of the privacy section in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center?
The privacy section in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center provides organizations with a centralized location to manage privacy-related tasks such as managing data subject requests, reviewing privacy compliance scores, and viewing privacy-related reports.
What is Microsoft Information Protection?
Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) is a data protection solution that helps organizations discover, classify, label, and protect sensitive information across various devices, applications, and services.
What is the purpose of sensitivity labels in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center?
Sensitivity labels in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center allow organizations to classify and protect their sensitive information based on its content, context, and intended audience.
What is the purpose of the Insider Risk Management feature in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center?
The Insider Risk Management feature in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center is designed to help organizations identify and mitigate risks from their employees or contractors who may intentionally or unintentionally misuse data.
What is the Compliance Score in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center?
The Compliance Score is a feature in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center that provides organizations with a unified score that reflects their compliance posture across various regulatory standards.
What is the purpose of the audit log search feature in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center?
The audit log search feature in the Microsoft 365 Compliance center allows organizations to search and retrieve audit logs to detect and investigate suspicious activities that may indicate potential security or compliance issues.
The Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal is an essential tool for managing compliance across all Microsoft services, right?
How does the Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal help in data loss prevention (DLP)?
I’m new to Microsoft Purview. Can someone explain the key components?
Thanks for this blog post. It really helped me understand the basics!
What level of access do you need to manage the Compliance Portal?
How does Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal integrate with third-party services?
Appreciate the detailed explanation in the blog!
I’ve had some issues with configuring DLP policies. They seem too restrictive sometimes.