Tutorial / Cram Notes
Auto-apply label policies in Microsoft 365 allow organizations to automatically classify and label content for protection and governance based on specific conditions. As an Information Protection Administrator preparing for the SC-400 certification, it’s important to understand how to configure and publish these policies to safeguard your organization’s data.
Understanding Auto-Apply Label Policies
Auto-apply label policies use sensitive info types, which are predefined or custom patterns that detect and classify sensitive content, such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, or custom business data.
Configuring Auto-Apply Label Policies
To configure an auto-apply label policy, follow these steps:
- Go to the Compliance Center: Log in to the Microsoft 365 Compliance Center with the necessary permissions.
- Select Information Governance: Navigate to the ‘Solutions’ section and select ‘Information governance’ or ‘Records management’ depending on your intended outcome.
- Create a Label: If you haven’t already created a label, click on ‘Labels’ and then ‘Create a label’ to define protection settings.
- Publish the Label: Once the label is created, go to ‘Label policies’ and click ‘Publish labels’.
- Choose Labels to Publish: Select the label you just created that you want to auto-apply.
- Configure Auto-Applying Rules: Define the conditions that will trigger the automatic classification. You can use properties such as content that contains specific sensitive information.
- Choose Locations: Select the locations where the policy will apply, such as Exchange email, SharePoint sites, OneDrive accounts, or Teams.
- Name Your Policy: Provide a name and description for your policy.
- Review and finalize your settings: Check the settings and conditions you’ve configured, then click ‘Create this policy’ to finalize the auto-application of your label.
- Test Your Policy: Before going live, it’s recommended to test your policy with a set of data to ensure it behaves as expected.
Examples
For example, suppose you want to protect all documents containing Social Security numbers across all SharePoint sites. You would create a sensitive information type for Social Security numbers or use the existing predefined one. Then configure an auto-apply label policy that uses this condition and select all SharePoint sites in the location settings.
Comparison of Manual vs Auto-Apply Policies
| Feature | Manual Labeling | Auto-Apply Labeling |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration Complexity | Low | High |
| User Involvement | High (users apply labels) | None (system applies labels) |
| Consistency | Can be inconsistent | Highly consistent |
| Deployment Speed | Immediate upon user action | Can take time to scan and label |
| Overhead for IT | Low | High (initial configuration) |
| Precision | Depends on user accuracy | Depends on conditions configured |
Best Practices
- Testing: Always test your policy on a smaller scope before deploying it across the organization to ensure it works as intended.
- Monitor and Review: Regularly monitor the auto-applied labels and review the effectiveness of the policy to make adjustments as needed.
- Training: Train users about the importance of labeling and how automatic labeling works to ensure they understand the organization’s data protection strategies.
- Incremental Deployment: Start with a limited scope and incrementally expand as you gain confidence in the policy’s reliability and effectiveness.
Configuring and publishing auto-apply label policies enhances data protection and governance within an organization by ensuring sensitive information is consistently labeled. An understanding of when and how to use them is instrumental for an Information Protection Administrator aiming to pass the SC-400 certification exam.
Practice Test with Explanation
True or False: Auto-apply label policies can be used to automatically classify and label content across Microsoft 365 locations such as SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, and OneDrive for Business.
- (A) True
- (B) False
Answer: A True
Explanation: Auto-apply label policies allow for content to be automatically labeled across various Microsoft 365 services, including SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, and OneDrive for Business.
Which of the following can be used as conditions for auto-applying a label policy in Microsoft 365?
- (A) Content contains sensitive information
- (B) Content was shared with a specific domain
- (C) Content is older than a specific number of days
- (D) All of the above
Answer: A Content contains sensitive information
Explanation: Auto-apply label policies can be configured to automatically apply labels to content that contains specific types of sensitive information. Option B is not a condition for labeling, and option C pertains to retention rather than sensitivity labeling.
True or False: Once published, auto-apply label policies begin labeling content immediately without the need for content to be modified or accessed again.
- (A) True
- (B) False
Answer: B False
Explanation: After an auto-apply label policy is published, it may take some time for the policy to be processed and for labels to be applied. The content does not necessarily have to be modified or accessed again, but there is usually a processing delay.
For an auto-apply label policy to take effect, what permission must a user have?
- (A) Global administrator
- (B) Compliance administrator
- (C) Security reader
- (D) Content creator
Answer: B Compliance administrator
Explanation: A compliance administrator or a similar role with appropriate permissions is required to configure and publish auto-apply label policies.
True or False: Auto-apply label policies can only be applied to new content that is created after the policy is created.
- (A) True
- (B) False
Answer: B False
Explanation: Auto-apply label policies can be applied to both new and existing content within the scope of the policy.
What type of labels can be auto-applied by using label policies?
- (A) Retention labels
- (B) Sensitivity labels
- (C) Both A and B
- (D) Neither A nor B
Answer: C Both A and B
Explanation: Auto-apply label policies can be used to apply both retention labels and sensitivity labels automatically.
True or False: When configuring auto-apply label policies, it is possible to simulate what the policy would do without actually applying the labels.
- (A) True
- (B) False
Answer: A True
Explanation: When configuring auto-apply label policies, you can run a simulation to see what the policy would do without the labels being actually applied. This allows for testing and fine-tuning of the policies.
How often can you expect auto-apply label policies to re-evaluate content if the content changes?
- (A) Immediately upon content change
- (B) Every 24 hours
- (C) Weekly
- (D) Monthly
Answer: B Every 24 hours
Explanation: While there may be some variation depending on system load and other factors, auto-apply label policies generally re-evaluate content on a daily basis, not immediately upon each content change.
Who can access the advanced settings of auto-apply label policies?
- (A) Any user with access to the Microsoft 365 compliance center
- (B) Only users with the Compliance Data Administrator role
- (C) Only users with the Compliance Administrator role
- (D) Both B and C
Answer: D Both B and C
Explanation: Access to the advanced settings of auto-apply label policies typically requires higher-level permissions such as those held by Compliance Data Administrators or Compliance Administrators.
Are auto-applied labels visible to end-users in their document libraries and email clients?
- (A) Yes, always
- (B) No, they are hidden
- (C) Only if the policy is configured to show the label
- (D) Only in email clients and not in document libraries
Answer: C Only if the policy is configured to show the label
Explanation: The visibility of auto-applied labels to end-users is contingent on the policy configuration. Labels can be set to be visible or hidden based on the settings applied by the administrator.
True or False: It is possible to exclude specific locations or users from an auto-apply label policy.
- (A) True
- (B) False
Answer: A True
Explanation: Auto-apply label policies can be configured with exclusions to prevent the policy from applying to certain locations or users.
Which of the following is necessary before you can publish an auto-apply label policy?
- (A) The label must be created but does not need to be published.
- (B) The label must be published to a label policy.
- (C) The label must be approved by a compliance officer.
- (D) The label must be reviewed by an external party.
Answer: B The label must be published to a label policy.
Explanation: Before an auto-apply label policy can be published and enforced, the corresponding label must be published to a label policy. This is done within the Microsoft 365 compliance center.
Great insights on configuring auto-apply label policies! Really helped me understand the process better.
I’m having trouble setting up auto-apply label policies in our Office 365 tenant. Can someone guide me through it?
Ensure your sensitive info types and labels are well-defined before applying any policies.
Thanks for the detailed guide! It worked perfectly for my organization’s needs.
Does the auto-apply label policy support custom sensitive info types?
Great post! I managed to configure everything as described, but the labels are not applying automatically.
Fantastic article! Very useful.
Do these policies also work for documents shared externally via OneDrive or SharePoint?