One of the key responsibilities you hold is managing the disposition of records. This involves overseeing the lifecycle of records to ensure that they are properly stored, accessed, and ultimately disposed of according to best practices and policies. This endeavor requires a solid understanding of Microsoft 365 compliance features and the ability to design, implement, and manage these features in a way that aligns with your organization’s regulatory requirements and business needs.
Understanding Disposition of Records
The disposition of records is the practice of managing records from their creation or receipt through their final disposal. This includes destruction or deletion of records, transfer to another entity, or permanent preservation. In Microsoft 365, record management capabilities help organizations to effectively classify, retain, and dispose of records.
Implementing Record Management in Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 has a comprehensive set of capabilities designed to meet the records management needs. While utilizing labels and policies plays a significant part in the process, a file plan is fundamental to managing a well-functioning records management process.
File Plan
A file plan lets you manage your organization’s content lifecycle, making it easier to consistently and accurately apply policies. It allows you to identify, categorize, and provide instructions for how to handle each record throughout its life cycle.
Your file plan should answer the following questions:
- What records need to be maintained and for how long?
- What actions should be taken when a record reaches the end of its life cycle?
- How should the records be categorized for easier identification, organization, and retrieval?
To create a file plan in Microsoft 365 Compliance Center, you navigate to Records management/File plan and click “+Add”.
Labels and Label Policies
Labels and label policies act as tools for executing your file plan.
Labels allow you to designate specific behaviors to specific types of content or documents. They make it possible for content that meets certain conditions to automatically or manually undergo specific actions such as retention or disposition.
Label policies let you group labels together and apply them to specific locations. They allow standardized control of content across your organization.
An example of setting up a label in Microsoft 365 Compliance Center could look as follows:
- Navigate to Records management/Labels and click “+Create Label”.
- Define the settings for the label, including what happens when the content reaches its end of life, trigger events, and more.
For defining a label policy, follow these steps:
- Navigate to Records management/Label policies and click “+Publish labels or “+Create label policy”.
- Select the labels to include and define where the policy applies.
Disposition Review
Microsoft 365 also offers a Disposition Review feature. This feature gives you the chance to review and approve disposition actions before they are enacted, offering an extra layer of oversight and control.
Importance of Disposition of Records
Effective record disposition supports both compliance and operational needs. It helps:
- Minimize risk: Proper disposition of records ensures sensitive information is not retained beyond its necessary life span, reducing the risk of data breaches and non-compliance.
- Improve operational efficiency: By eliminating unnecessary data, you can streamline processes and reduce storage costs.
- Preserve value: Disposing of records at the right time helps maintain their value and reliability for future use.
Points to Consider
While managing disposition of records, consider:
- Create a comprehensive file plan and ensure it is understood and followed.
- Utilize Labels and Label policies for implementing your file plan.
- Use Disposition Review for an extra layer of control and oversight.
- Regularly review your records management practices to ensure they align with your organization’s needs and regulatory changes.
Keeping all these points in mind will allow you to effectively manage the disposition of records, thereby enhancing your organization’s compliance, reducing risks, and improving operational efficiency. As an SC-400 Microsoft Information Protection Administrator, taking these steps is key in managing your organization’s sensitive and valuable records.
Practice Test
True or False: Disposition of records involves the destruction of records at the end of their lifecycle.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Disposition of records refers to the final actions that are taken regarding records when they are no longer needed for current business, including their destruction.
The retention period of a record is determined by:
- A) Organizational policies
- B) Legal requirements
- C) The information’s useful lifespan
- D) All of the above
Answer: D (All of the above)
Explanation: All of these factors can influence how long a record is kept before disposition.
Which of the following are ways to manage the disposition of records? (select all that apply)
- A) Destroying records
- B) Archiving records
- C) Shredding records
- D) Encrypting records
Answer: A, B, and C.
Explanation: Destructing, archiving, and shredding records are all ways to manage their disposition. Encrypting isn’t a method of disposition.
True or False: A records disposition schedule is a plan for the destruction of records.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: A records disposition schedule outlines when and how records should be destroyed or otherwise disposed of.
Records can be disposed of by:
- A) Deletion
- B) Overwriting
- C) Shredding
- D) All of the above
Answer: D (All of the above)
Explanation: All of these are valid methods to dispose of records depending on the record type and content.
In Microsoft Information Protection, sensitivity labels are used to manage disposition of records. True or False?
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Sensitivity labels in Microsoft Information Protection are used for classifying and protecting sensitive data, not managing disposition of records.
True or False: Disposition of records is only about getting rid of old records.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: While disposition often involves the destruction of records, it can also involve archiving or transferring records for permanent preservation.
A court order can influence the disposition of records. True or False?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Legal proceedings such as court orders may require certain records to be preserved beyond their normal disposition schedule.
Data that’s not a record nor contains any business value should be:
- A) Archived
- B) Disposed of immediately
- C) Kept for at least one year
- D) Shared with teams
Answer: B (Disposed of immediately)
Explanation: If data is not a record and have no business value, it’s considered as ROT (Redundant, Obsolete, and Trivial) data and should be promptly disposed of.
True or False: It’s acceptable to keep records indefinitely as a form of disposition.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Holding records indefinitely can create data clutter, increase storage costs, and even result in non-compliance with certain regulations, which limit how long certain data should be kept.
Microsoft 365 provides retention policies and retention labels to manage the lifecycle of data and content. True or False?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: In Microsoft 365, you can use retention policies and retention labels to manage the lifecycle of data in your organization, including its disposition.
What lays down the formal process that describes the records you keep, why you keep them, and for how long:
- A) Records Disposition Plan
- B) Records Management Plan
- C) Records Destruction Plan
- D) Records Retention Policy
Answer: D (Records Retention Policy)
Explanation: A records retention policy is a company’s formal process that outlines what records it keeps, the reason for keeping them and the period they should be kept before disposition.
True or False: A record’s retention period begins from the time it is created.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: A record’s retention period typically begins from the time of its creation or receipt.
Disposition review is a process of reviewing and confirming deletion decisions for content that’s labeled with a retention label and the retention period has expired. True or False?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Disposition review ensures that data is not being deleted erroneously once the retention period has expired and helps maintain compliance with records management policies.
The process that provides an audit trail for the final disposition of records in a records series or system is called:
- A) Disposition reporting
- B) Disposition certificate
- C) Records tracking
- D) Disposition documentation
Answer: D (Disposition documentation)
Explanation: Disposition documentation provides a record of what happened to each record or records series, making it an essential part of a thorough and accountable records management program.
Interview Questions
What is the primary role of the Records Management feature in the Microsoft 365 compliance center?
The Records Management feature aids in handling the life cycle of all records across an organization’s data, from classification through disposal.
What are Information Protection labels used for in Microsoft 365?
Information Protection labels in Microsoft 365 are used to classify data across the organization for governance, and enforce rules based on that classification, such as retention or disposal.
In Microsoft Information Protection, what is Retention policy?
A Retention policy in Microsoft Information Protection is a set of rules that govern how long the data must be kept.
What is the role of Retention labels in Microsoft 365?
Retention labels in Microsoft 365 allow organizations to classify data for governance, enforce retention rules based on that classification, and use actions like deletion or disposal when the data reaches its retention limit.
What is event-based retention in the context of Microsoft Information Protection?
Event-based retention allows organizations to keep records for a specified period of time after an event occurs, like a contract ending or a project closing.
What are three key actions that can be applied to a retention label in Microsoft Information Protection?
The three key actions that can be applied to a retention label are Mark the content as a record, Trigger a disposition review, and Start a retention period based on when an event occurs.
What is a Disposition review in Microsoft Information Protection?
A Disposition review in Microsoft Information Protection is a process where expired content that’s marked for disposition is reviewed before it’s deleted.
If an item has both a retention policy and a retention label, which takes precedence in Microsoft 365 Records Management?
In Microsoft 365 Records Management, a retention label takes precedence over a retention policy if both are applied to an item.
What type of encryption does Microsoft 365 use for Information Rights Management (IRM)?
Microsoft 365 uses Azure Rights Management (Azure RMS), a cloud-based encryption service for Information Rights Management (IRM).
What is the role of Supervisory Review in Microsoft 365 Records Management?
Supervisory Review in Microsoft 365 Records Management helps organizations monitor email and Microsoft Teams communications to ensure that they comply with internal policies or external regulations.
How is a document declared a record in Microsoft Information Protection?
A document can be declared a record by applying a retention label that has the “Mark as a record” action.
What can be done if a file with a retention label that marks it as a record needs to be modified?
File versions can be used to keep any modifications separate if a file with a retention label that marks it as a record needs to be modified.
Can a retention policy or retention label be used to delete content automatically in Microsoft 365?
Yes, a retention policy or retention label can be set up with an action to automatically permanently delete the content when it reaches its retention age.
How can an event-based retention policy be implemented in Microsoft 365?
An event-based retention policy in Microsoft 365 can be implemented by using retention labels and applying them to documents, specifying the trigger for the retention period to begin.
Can you change a Retention label after it has been published and applied to content in Microsoft Information Protection?
Yes, a Retention label can be edited after it’s been published, but the changes only apply to content to which the label is applied going forward. The label isn’t retroactively changed for content it was applied to previously.
extutorials.com