Practice Free SC-401 Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365 Exam Questions Answers With Explanation

Endpoint DLP builds on Microsoft Defender for Endpoint integration. Before enabling Endpoint DLP, you must turn on device onboarding in Microsoft Purview to allow devices (like Device1) to be enrolled. After onboarding, you can assign DLP policies to endpoints.

Let’s break it down:

File1.docx ? DLP action = None

No DLP restrictions, so it is fully accessible to both User1 (owner) and User2 (member).

File2.docx ? DLP action = Matched by DLP

“Matched” means the DLP policy detected sensitive content but has not blocked access. Instead, it may generate an alert or policy tip.

Both User1 and User2 can still open this file.

File3.docx ? DLP action = Blocked by DLP

“Blocked” means the DLP policy actively restricts access or sharing of the file.

User2 (member) cannot open this file.

However, User1 (site owner) can open it because site collection admins and owners always retain full control over content, even if a DLP rule applies.

Ref: Microsoft Purview DLP policy tips and enforcement

? DLP policies do not prevent SharePoint/OneDrive site collection admins (owners) from accessing content.

? Final Answer Table:

User1 (Site Owner): File1.docx, File2.docx, File3.docx

User2 (Site Member): File1.docx, File2.docx

The content search uses the KQL editor with the query -Author:USER1. In eDiscovery/Content search, the minus sign denotes NOT and KQL is case-insensitive for property values. Therefore, this query returns items whose Author is not ‘User1’.

File1.docx ? Author = User1 ? excluded

File2.docx ? Author = User2 ? included

File3.docx ? Author = USER1 (same as User1, case-insensitive) ? excluded

Result: File2.docx only.

Step 1 – Review the configuration

Sensitivity label name: Contoso Confidential

Scope: Files and emails

Access control:

Encrypts documents/emails.

Permissions assigned to AuthenticatedUsers with Co-Author rights.

Offline access allowed only for 7 days.

Auto-labeling = None (not configured).

Content marking: Footer applied.

Step 2 – Analyze each statement

Statement 1: If a user account is disabled, the user will be immediately prevented from opening a file protected by Contoso Confidential.

Sensitivity labels with encryption enforce Azure AD authentication every time a user tries to access a file.

If the account is disabled in Azure AD, access is blocked immediately.

Answer: Yes

Statement 2: Guest users will be able to open documents protected by Contoso Confidential.

Access control was configured only for AuthenticatedUsers (internal users).

Guest or external users are not included in this group.

Therefore, guest users cannot open the protected documents.

Answer: No

Statement 3: Contoso Confidential will be applied automatically to the files stored in Microsoft SharePoint Online.

Auto-labeling for files and emails = None.

That means labeling must be applied manually by users, not automatically.

Answer: No

Final Verified Answers

If a user account is disabled, the user will be immediately prevented from opening a file protected by Contoso Confidential ? Yes

Guest users will be able to open documents protected by Contoso Confidential ? No

Contoso Confidential will be applied automatically to the files stored in Microsoft SharePoint Online ? No

To review a Microsoft 365 Copilot usage report, you need to use Data Security Posture Management for AI (DSPM for AI) in the Microsoft Purview portal. DSPM for AI provides insights into AI-related activities, including Copilot usage, risk assessments, and data security posture related to AI interactions within Microsoft 365.

The action "SiteRenamed" for SharePoint is covered under the AuditRetention4 policy, which applies to User1 and retains logs for 9 months.

The action "Send" for ExchangeItem is covered under the AuditRetention2 policy, but this policy applies only to User1. Since User2 is not covered under a specific policy, the default retention period for audit logs in Microsoft Purview is 90 days.

To customize encrypted email in Microsoft 365, including adding a company logo, you need to modify the Office Message Encryption (OME) branding settings. The Set-OMEConfiguration PowerShell cmdlet allows you to configure branding elements such as:

? Company logo

? Custom text

? Background color

This cmdlet is used to update existing OME branding settings, ensuring that encrypted emails sent from your organization include the required customizations.

To create custom trainable classifiers in Microsoft Purview, the user must have rights in the compliance portal. The Compliance Administrator role provides the necessary permissions to create and manage trainable classifiers. Security roles focus on threat management, and Global Administrator is excessive (not least privilege).

Comprehensive Detailed Explanation with References

The command Set-AuditConfig -Workload Exchange is related to configuring auditing for workloads but does not enable mailbox auditing.

To capture and view who is accessing User1’s mailbox, mailbox auditing must be enabled at the mailbox level in Exchange Online.

Correct solution would be:

Set-Mailbox -Identity User1 -AuditEnabled $true

Mailbox auditing is enabled by default for all mailboxes in Microsoft 365 now, but if it is disabled, enabling auditing at the mailbox level is required. Running Set-AuditConfig -Workload Exchange alone does not accomplish this.

Step 1 – Understand the scenario

The security manager is receiving an email every time a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy match occurs. The requirement is to reduce the number of unnecessary alerts and only notify for meaningful or actionable violations.

Step 2 – Analyze each option

A. From the Microsoft Defender portal, apply a filter to the alerts.

This action would only filter what is displayed in the portal. It does not prevent the security manager from receiving email notifications each time a DLP match occurs. This does not solve the problem.

B. From the Microsoft Purview portal, modify the Policy Tips settings of a DLP policy.

Policy Tips are intended for end users inside Outlook, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint to guide them about sensitive information before they send or share content. They do not change how or when admin alert notifications are triggered.

C. From the Microsoft Purview portal, modify the matched activities threshold of an alert policy.

DLP alert policies allow configuration of thresholds such as the number of matches, severity levels, and repeated activity counts. By adjusting the matched activities threshold, alerts can be generated only when a violation reaches a significant level, which reduces unnecessary alerts and ensures that notifications are sent only for actionable events. This matches the requirement.

D. From the Microsoft Purview portal, modify the User overrides settings of a DLP policy.

User override settings allow end users to bypass a DLP restriction if they provide a justification, but this does not impact the number of alert notifications sent to the security manager.

Step 3 – Microsoft Reference

According to Microsoft documentation: “You can configure alert policies with thresholds to reduce the number of alert notifications and focus only on actionable DLP events.”

You need one Sensitive Information Type (SIT) per distinct information pattern. The minimum set that covers both SharePoint and Exchange is:

Credit Card Number (builtin) – used for documents and email.

UK National Health Service Number (builtin) – used for documents and email.

EU/UK Physical Address (builtin “EU PII: Physical address”).

User credentials (builtin “Credentials”/“User credentials”).

Custom keywordbased SIT for the sensitive project names (“Project Tailspin”, “Project Contoso”, “Project Falcon”) – can be one SIT using a keyword list.

SITs are reusable across locations, so you don’t count duplicates for email and documents.

Marking Tailspin_scanner.exe as "Unsanctioned" in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps only blocks its usage in cloud-based activities (such as accessing SharePoint, OneDrive, or Exchange Online). However, it does not prevent a locally installed application on Windows 11 devices from accessing sensitive files.

To block Tailspin_scanner.exe from accessing sensitive documents while allowing it to access other files, the correct solution is to use Microsoft Purview Endpoint Data Loss Prevention (Endpoint DLP) and add Tailspin_scanner.exe to the Restricted Apps list.

Endpoint DLP allows you to block specific applications from accessing sensitive files while keeping general access available. Restricted Apps List in Endpoint DLP ensures that Tailspin_scanner.exe cannot open, copy, or process protected documents, but it can still function normally for non-sensitive content.

The Set-AdminAuditLogConfig -AdminAuditLogEnabled $true -AdminAuditLogCmdlets *Mailbox* command is incorrect. This enables admin audit logging, which tracks changes to mailbox configurations (e.g., mailbox settings updates), not user activity inside the mailbox.

Retention policy tags (MRM) for Exchange Online are applied by the Managed Folder Assistant (MFA). To apply a newly created Exchange retention policy to mailbox items immediately, you manually invoke MFA with Start-ManagedFolderAssistant for the mailbox or set of mailboxes. Creating DLP policies or label policies in Purview does not accelerate MRM processing.

To meet the requirement that all administrative users must be able to create Microsoft 365 sensitivity labels, we need to assign the Sensitivity Label Administrator role to the correct users.

Sensitivity Label Administrator Role Responsibilities

This role allows users to:

? Create and manage sensitivity labels in Microsoft Purview.

? Publish and configure auto-labeling policies.

? Modify label encryption and content marking settings.

Review of Admin Roles from the Table:

Users that must be assigned the Sensitivity Label Administrator role:

? Admin2 (Compliance Data Administrator)

? Admin3 (Compliance Administrator)

? Admin1 (Global Reader) (should be assigned this role to fulfill the requirement that all admins can create labels).

Current setup:

DLP1 (priority 0, Rule1) ? Stop processing additional rules enabled ? means if Rule1 matches, later rules (including Rule2 with Tip2) will never be evaluated.

Requirement: Ensure that if all rules match, the user sees Tip2 (Rule2’s policy tip).

To fix this: Move DLP2 above DLP1 in priority (i.e., set DLP2 = priority 0). Then Rule2 will be evaluated first, and its policy tip (Tip2) will be displayed.

Why not others?

B. Prevent additional processing of the policies if there is a match for Rule2: That would stop processing later, but DLP1 would still block earlier due to its higher priority.

C. Change the priority of DLP2 to 3: That pushes it even lower, making it worse.

D. Enable additional processing for Rule1: Rule1 already has stop processing enabled. Changing that does not ensure Rule2 runs before Rule1, because priority is evaluated first.

To detect and protect confidential documents, we need a custom rule to identify project codes that start with 999 (since they are classified as confidential).

Box 1: A Sensitive Info Type (SIT) allows Microsoft Purview DLP policies to recognize structured data (e.g., project codes). DLP policies require a sensitive info type to detect content based on patterns, keywords, or dictionary terms. A sensitivity label alone does not define detection logic—it is used for classification and protection after content is identified.

Box 2: Since project codes follow a structured 10-digit pattern, we should use a Regular Expression (Regex) to match project codes that start with 999.

Example Regex pattern:

999\d{7}

This pattern detects a 10-digit number starting with "999".

Understanding DLP Policy Impact on File Access

The DLP policy (DLPpolicy1) applies to Site2 and restricts access when:

? Content contains SWIFT Codes.

? Instance count is 2 or more.

File Analysis (Based on SWIFT Codes Count)

Files that remain accessible (not restricted by DLP):

? File1.docx (Contains only 1 SWIFT Code ? Below restriction threshold)

User access after DLP policy is applied:

User1 (Site Owner):

? Has higher privileges and can override DLP restrictions (through admin intervention).

? Can access 2 files (File1.docx + override access to another file).

User2 (Site Visitor):

? Has read-only access but DLP blocks access to restricted files.

? Can only access 1 file (File1.docx), since all others are restricted.

The requirement states that all Microsoft 365 data for users must be retained for at least one year. In Microsoft 365, retention policies must be configured for each type of data storage.

Step 1: Identifying Where Data is Stored

From the case study, users store data in the following locations:

? SharePoint Online sites

? OneDrive accounts

? Exchange email

? Exchange public folders

? Teams chats

? Teams channel messages

Since these locations fall under two broad categories:

? Microsoft Exchange data (Emails, Public folders)

? SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams data

Step 2: Required Retention Policies

1?. A single retention policy can cover:

? SharePoint Online

? OneDrive

? Microsoft Teams

2. A second retention policy is required for:

? Exchange (Emails & Public Folders)

Thus, the minimum number of retention policies required to meet the requirement is 2.

Microsoft 365 retention policies can be applied broadly across multiple services with just two policies:

? One for Exchange & Public Folders

? One for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams

There's no need for separate policies for each individual workload unless different retention durations are required, which is not stated in the requirement.

The goal is to automatically label documents in Site1 that contain credit card numbers. To achieve this, we need a sensitivity label with an auto-labeling policy based on a sensitive info type that detects credit card numbers.

Step 1: Create a Sensitive Info Type

? A sensitive info type is needed to detect credit card numbers in documents.

? Microsoft Purview includes built-in sensitive info types for credit card numbers, but we can also create a custom one if necessary.

Step 2: Create a Sensitivity Label

? A sensitivity label is required to classify and protect documents containing sensitive information.

? This label can apply encryption, watermarking, or access controls to credit card data.

Step 3: Create an Auto-Labeling Policy

? An auto-labeling policy ensures that the sensitivity label is applied automatically when credit card numbers are detected in Site1.

? This policy is configured to scan files and automatically apply the correct sensitivity label.

Understanding Site4's Retention Policies:

? Site4RetentionPolicy1 deletes items older than 2 years from creation. If a file was created on January 1, 2021, it would be deleted after January 1, 2023.

? Site4RetentionPolicy2 retains files for 4 years from creation. If a file was created on January 1, 2021, it will be kept until January 1, 2025, but not deleted after that (policy states "Do nothing").

Statement 1 - Yes, because Site4RetentionPolicy2 ensures files are retained for 4 years.

Statement 2 - Yes, because Site4RetentionPolicy2 retains the file for 4 years (until January 1, 2025).

Statement 3 - No, because retention is only for 4 years (until January 1, 2025). After that, the policy does "nothing," meaning the file is no longer recoverable after that period.