Tutorial / Cram Notes
Information is an asset and potential liability for every organization. To manage the risks and value associated with information, effective information retention and disposition strategies are crucial. One powerful tool for implementing such strategies within the Microsoft 365 environment is the use of retention labels.
Understanding Retention Labels
Retention labels are tags that can be applied to content such as documents, emails, and chat messages to determine how long they should be retained before being disposed of or reviewed. They are part of the Microsoft 365 compliance framework and play a central role in governance, risk management, and compliance strategies.
Retention labels enable organizations to:
- Retain content that is deemed important for compliance or business needs.
- Delete content that is considered unnecessary or a liability after a specific period.
- Classify content automatically based on sensitivity or importance.
- Apply manual or automatic disposition of content.
Creating a Retention Plan
To create an effective retention plan, an organization must:
- Identify the Information to be Governed: Classify what types of information need to be retained such as business records, personal data, or confidential documents.
- Determine Retention Periods: Define how long each information type should be kept. This is driven by regulatory requirements, legal needs, and business value.
- Specify Disposition Actions: Decide what should happen when the retention period ends – whether the data needs to be reviewed for possible deletion or automatically deleted.
- Label Application: Choose how retention labels are applied, either manually by users, automatically by administrators, or through auto-classification with machine learning.
Implementing Retention Labels
Step 1: Creation of Retention Labels
Create retention labels in the Microsoft 365 compliance center by specifying the label name, retention settings, and disposition actions.
Example:
| Label Name | Retention Period | Disposition Action | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Records | 7 Years | Automatic Deletion | For financial document types |
| Legal Hold | Indefinite | None | Documents under legal review |
| Project Data | 5 Years | Review before Deletion | For completed project files |
Step 2: Publishing Labels
Once created, retention labels need to be published to users, groups, or locations such as SharePoint sites or Exchange mailboxes. This action makes the labels available for application.
Step 3: Application of Retention Labels
Applying retention labels can be done through manual tagging, where users select the appropriate label for their content, or through automatic policies based on content type, sensitivity, or keyword queries.
Step 4: Monitoring and Managing Label Usage
Regular reports and dashboards in the compliance center provide insights into how labels are being applied. This helps ensure that policies are followed correctly.
Step 5: Disposition Review and Documentation
When content reaches the end of its retention period, it can be subject to a disposition review. The review process allows designated reviewers to decide if the content should be permanently deleted or further retained. All dispositional actions are logged for auditing purposes.
Tailoring Retention Labels
Every organization is unique, and retention requirements can vary greatly. Retention labels offer the following options to tailor policies:
- Adaptive policies: Use machine learning capabilities to identify and classify content that might not be easily categorized.
- Event-driven retention: Kick-off a retention period from a specific event, like employee termination or a project closure.
- Sensitive information types: Utilize predefined or custom sensitive information types to trigger retention labels.
- Retention label analytics: Measure the effectiveness and adoption of your retention policies to modify and improve them over time.
Considerations for SC-400 Exam Candidates
Candidates preparing for the SC-400: Microsoft Information Protection Administrator exam should have a thorough understanding of:
- Designing and implementing retention labels and policies.
- Managing the entire lifecycle of labeled content.
- The impact of retention labels on search and eDiscovery.
- How to troubleshoot retention labels and policies.
By developing a clear plan for information retention and disposition using retention labels, an organization can ensure compliance with legal and regulatory standards while minimizing risks associated with information overload and data breaches. Candidates for the SC-400 exam should be able to design, implement, and manage such plans proficiently within the Microsoft 365 compliance framework.
Practice Test with Explanation
True/False: A retention label must be published before it can be applied to content.
- True
Correct answer: True
Explanation: Retention labels need to be published through a label policy before they can be applied to content manually or automatically.
Multiple Select: Which of the following can be automatically applied to content using retention labels?
- A) Based on specific words or phrases
- B) Based on content types
- C) Based on the creator of the document
- D) Based on manual selection by end-users
Correct answer: A, B
Explanation: Retention labels can be automatically applied based on specific words, phrases, or content types. Manual selection by end-users also allows content to be labeled but is not an automated process. The creator of the document is not a criterion for automated labeling.
True/False: Retention labels can only be applied to documents stored in SharePoint Online.
- False
Correct answer: False
Explanation: Retention labels can be applied to content in various locations, including SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft 365 groups.
Single Select: To implement a retention policy that ensures documents are deleted after a certain period, you would:
- A) Use a retention label with a ‘Do nothing’ retention action
- B) Use a retention label with a ‘Delete automatically’ retention action
- C) Apply an information barrier
- D) Apply a sensitivity label
Correct answer: B
Explanation: A retention label with a ‘Delete automatically’ retention action ensures that documents are deleted after a specified retention period has elapsed.
True/False: Retention labels can trigger a disposition review at the end of their retention period.
- True
Correct answer: True
Explanation: Retention labels can be configured to initiate a disposition review process when the retention period is up, requiring certain actions before content is permanently deleted.
Single Select: What is the purpose of the file plan descriptor in retention labels?
- A) To enforce encryption on files
- B) To provide metadata about the label for categorization and management
- C) To automatically apply labels to content
- D) To enable external sharing of files
Correct answer: B
Explanation: The file plan descriptor provides metadata that helps categorize and manage retention labels, aiding in organizational processes around retention.
True/False: Once a retention label is applied to a document, it cannot be changed by end-users.
- False
Correct answer: False
Explanation: Depending on the permissions and settings, end-users might be able to change the retention label applied to a document.
Multiple Select: What actions can be taken at the end of a retention period defined by a retention label?
- A) Keep the content forever
- B) Delete the content permanently
- C) Start a disposition review
- D) Archive the content
Correct answer: B, C
Explanation: At the end of a retention period, the content can be deleted permanently or a disposition review can be initiated. Keeping content forever or archiving it would require a different retention setting.
Single Select: Retention labels in Microsoft 365 can be applied to which of the following?
- A) Only emails in Exchange Online
- B) Only documents in SharePoint Online
- C) Emails, documents, Teams messages, and more
- D) Only chat messages in Microsoft Teams
Correct answer: C
Explanation: Retention labels in Microsoft 365 can be applied to a wide range of content, including emails, documents, Teams messages, and more.
True/False: It is possible to simulate the application of retention labels to content without actually applying the labels.
- True
Correct answer: True
Explanation: The label policy has an option to simulate the application process which allows administrators to understand the impact before actually applying the labels to content.
Multiple Select: Which of the following can be reasons to retain information?
- A) Legal requirements
- B) Business needs
- C) Personal preferences
- D) Regulatory compliance
Correct answer: A, B, D
Explanation: Information is retained based on legal requirements, business needs, and regulatory compliance, not personal preferences.
True/False: Once applied, retention labels override any other retention policies in place at the location level.
- True
Correct answer: True
Explanation: Retention labels, once applied, take precedence over any other retention or deletion policies applied at the container level, such as those on a SharePoint site or an Exchange mailbox.
Interview Questions
What is retention in Microsoft 365 compliance?
Retention is the ability to retain content for a specified period of time and dispose of it after that period has expired.
What are retention labels?
Retention labels are used to apply a retention policy to a group of content items, such as email messages, documents, and chat messages, to keep them for a certain period of time.
What are the two types of retention labels?
The two types of retention labels are a default retention label and a custom retention label.
What is a default retention label?
A default retention label is a pre-built label created by Microsoft 365 to help organizations with their common retention needs.
What is a custom retention label?
A custom retention label is a label that an organization creates to meet their specific retention needs.
How can retention labels be applied?
Retention labels can be applied to content manually or automatically based on their metadata, such as the location where the content is stored, its content type, or a keyword.
What are retention policies?
Retention policies are used to enforce the retention labels by specifying the retention period, and the actions that should be taken when the retention period expires.
What happens when a retention period expires?
When a retention period expires, the content is either deleted or kept indefinitely, based on the actions specified in the retention policy.
What is retention hold?
Retention hold is a feature that allows content to be preserved and exempted from the retention policy. This can be useful for preserving content that may be relevant to legal or regulatory requirements.
How can organizations manage retention policies?
Organizations can manage retention policies through the Microsoft 365 Compliance Center, where they can create, edit, and apply retention policies to content in their organization.
Can retention policies be applied to on-premises content?
Yes, retention policies can be applied to on-premises content using the Azure Information Protection scanner.
What are the benefits of using retention labels and policies?
Retention labels and policies help organizations to comply with legal, regulatory, and business requirements, while also reducing the risk of data loss, and saving storage costs by deleting content that is no longer needed.
What are some factors to consider when planning for retention?
Some factors to consider when planning for retention include the type of content, its sensitivity, and the legal and regulatory requirements that may apply.
Can retention policies be edited or deleted?
Yes, retention policies can be edited or deleted, but care must be taken to ensure that the changes are not in conflict with legal or regulatory requirements.
How can organizations monitor the effectiveness of their retention policies?
Organizations can monitor the effectiveness of their retention policies by regularly reviewing reports on the application of retention labels and policies, and making adjustments as needed.
Great blog post on using retention labels for information retention and disposition! It’s really helpful for my SC-400 exam prep.
Can someone explain how retention labels are integrated with Microsoft 365 services?
What are the best practices for deploying retention labels in a large organization?
I’m confused about the difference between retention labels and retention policies. Any clarifications?
Does using retention labels affect document searchability in Microsoft 365?
Appreciate the detailed insights on this topic!
It sounds like retention labels could affect performance if overused. Anyone experienced this?
Thanks for the helpful post!