Tutorial / Cram Notes
Content Explorer is a feature within the Microsoft 365 compliance center that offers real-time visibility into labeled content across your organization. It allows you to view content that has been labeled and provides detailed information about where this content is located.
Example Usage:
Suppose you have implemented sensitivity labels across your organization. You can use Content Explorer to track where documents classified as ‘Confidential’ are stored, who has access to them, and if they are being shared externally.
By inspecting the distribution of labels, you can identify areas where sensitive content might be overexposed or if any document has been mislabeled, thus allowing you to remediate the issue quickly.
Leveraging Activity Explorer for Monitoring Label Actions
Activity Explorer offers a granular view of label-related activities and events. It provides insights into how labels are being used and the types of user activities associated with labeled content, such as views, modifications, and external sharing.
Example Usage:
You can monitor the activities surrounding your ‘Highly Confidential’ documents. If Activity Explorer shows an unexpected spike in external sharing of these documents, you might need to enforce stricter access policies or provide further training to users handling these documents.
Generating and Analyzing Label Reports
Label reports are essential for tracking the usage and effectiveness of labels across your organization. They allow you to generate comprehensive reports on label usage, including information on how many documents are labeled, who is applying labels, and which labels are most commonly used.
Example Usage:
A report might show that a majority of users are not applying the ‘Internal Only’ label as intended. With this insight, you can design targeted training to educate users on when and how to use this specific label.
Comparison Through Content Explorer and Activity Explorer
| Feature | Content Explorer | Activity Explorer |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility | Shows labeled content | Shows activities on labeled content |
| Real-time Monitoring | Yes, with current data snapshot | Yes, with detailed activity timelines |
| Detail Level | Metadata and location of labeled content | User actions on specific labeled content |
| Usage Insights | Identifies how data is classified | Reveals how data is being accessed and handled |
| Data Governance | Helps enforce classification policies | Helps monitor policy compliance and user behavior |
Optimizing Label Strategy
By analyzing the data from these tools, you can refine your labeling strategy:
- Assess Current Label Usage: Identify the most and least used labels to understand user behavior.
- Evaluate Labeling Policy Effectiveness: Determine if labels align with compliance and business needs, and adjust policies accordingly.
- Improve User Training: Implement targeted training to address gaps in user knowledge about labeling practices.
- Monitor for Compliance Risks: Keep an eye on high-risk activities such as unauthorized sharing or data mishandling.
- Automate Labeling Where Possible: Use auto-labeling policies to take the burden off users and ensure consistency in labeling.
By integrating the use of Content Explorer, Activity Explorer, and label reports, you can develop a thorough understanding of how labels are applied and interacted with across your Microsoft 365 environment. This holistic approach to label optimization can lead to enhanced data protection, improved compliance postures, and more effective data governance strategies.
Practice Test with Explanation
True or False: Content Explorer allows you to view content that has been labeled within your organization.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: A. True
Explanation: Content Explorer is a tool within the Microsoft 365 compliance center that allows you to view items that have been labeled.
The Activity Explorer in Microsoft 365 is used to:
- A. Apply labels to documents
- B. Monitor label activity, such as label creations and modifications
- C. Restore deleted documents
- D. Configure label policies
Answer: B. Monitor label activity, such as label creations and modifications
Explanation: Activity Explorer allows you to monitor how your labeled content is being handled, including label creations, modifications, and other activity around your labels.
True or False: Label reports in Microsoft 365 Compliance center can help identify documents that are not compliant with your organization’s labeling policies.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: A. True
Explanation: Label reports can help you understand adoption levels, as well as identify content that is under-labeled or not compliant with labeling policies.
Which feature should you use to find out how many documents in your organization are labeled as “Confidential”?
- A. Data Loss Prevention report
- B. Audit log search
- C. Content Explorer
- D. Activity Explorer
Answer: C. Content Explorer
Explanation: Content Explorer allows you to filter and see how many documents are labeled with specific labels like “Confidential.”
The primary purpose of Content Explorer is to:
- A. Automatically apply labels to content
- B. Provide detailed access to content metadata
- C. Offer real-time alerting on labeled content
- D. Provide visibility into labeled content across the organization
Answer: D. Provide visibility into labeled content across the organization
Explanation: Content Explorer is designed to give organizations visibility into how content is labeled across different locations such as SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange mailboxes.
True or False: Activity Explorer only shows activities for labels that are applied manually by users.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: B. False
Explanation: Activity Explorer shows all label activities, including those applied manually by users and those applied automatically by policies.
Label reports can be accessed from:
- A. Microsoft 365 admin center
- B. Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance center
- C. Azure Active Directory admin center
- D. Microsoft Teams admin center
Answer: B. Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance center
Explanation: Label reports are part of the Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance center, which provides tools to manage labels and analyze their usage.
To optimize label usage, organizations should:
- A. Limit the number of labels
- B. Periodically review and update label policies as needed
- C. Avoid using automatic labeling
- D. Use the same labels for every type of content
Answer: B. Periodically review and update label policies as needed
Explanation: Optimizing label usage involves continually monitoring label effectiveness and updating label policies to ensure they meet organizational needs and comply with regulations.
True or False: Only administrators can use Content Explorer.
- A. True
- B. False
Answer: B. False
Explanation: While Content Explorer is primarily an administrator tool, permissions can be assigned to allow other roles, like compliance officers, to access the tool as well.
Which one of the following is NOT a function of the Activity Explorer?
- A. Viewing document access attempts
- B. Downloading labeled documents
- C. Monitoring label changes
- D. Tracking email messages that have been classified with a label
Answer: B. Downloading labeled documents
Explanation: Activity Explorer allows you to monitor label-related activities but does not provide the functionality to download documents directly from its interface.
Interview Questions
What is Content Explorer in Microsoft 365 Compliance?
Content Explorer is a tool that allows users to search and analyze data in their Microsoft 365 environment.
How can Content Explorer be used to optimize label usage?
Content Explorer can be used to identify where sensitive data is located in an organization’s environment, and to ensure that it is properly labeled and protected.
What is Activity Explorer in Microsoft 365 Compliance?
Activity Explorer is a tool that provides insights into user activity in a Microsoft 365 environment, including file and folder activity, sign-in activity, and more.
How can Activity Explorer be used to optimize label usage?
Activity Explorer can be used to identify where sensitive data is being used, how it is being used, and who is using it, which can help organizations refine their labeling policies and better protect sensitive information.
What are some of the events that can be tracked using Activity Explorer?
Events that can be tracked using Activity Explorer include file and folder views, edits, deletions, and downloads, as well as sign-in activity and changes to user settings.
How can label reports be used to optimize label usage?
Label reports can provide insights into how labels are being used in an organization, including which labels are being applied most frequently and which files are being labeled.
What types of labels can be used with Content Explorer and Activity Explorer?
Both tools support sensitivity labels, retention labels, and auto-label policies.
How can auto-label policies help optimize label usage?
Auto-label policies can automatically apply labels to files and documents based on their content, which can help ensure that sensitive data is consistently labeled and protected.
How can label analytics be used to optimize label usage?
Label analytics can provide insights into how labels are being used across an organization, which can help identify opportunities for refinement and improvement.
What is the benefit of optimizing label usage?
Optimizing label usage can help organizations more effectively protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with relevant regulations and standards.
Content Explorer is such a powerful tool for optimizing label usage! Has anyone used it extensively?
What about Activity Explorer? How does it contribute to label optimization?
Thanks for the helpful article!
Can label reports be automated to run on a schedule?
This blog post is really informative.
Using Content Explorer and Activity Explorer together has improved our data protection strategy.
Anyone else found the initial setup of labels and policies complex?
Content Explorer’s ability to identify global trends in sensitive data is underrated.