Data governance is a critical aspect of Microsoft 365 Security, Compliance, and Identity fundamentals (SC-900). A fundamental data governance approach necessitates understanding and applying the respective retention policies and retention labels.
A. What is a Retention Policy?
A retention policy in Microsoft 365 helps organizations achieve the following objectives: regulate the duration for which data is held, identify what happens to data after the period expires, and determine where the rules apply. This means, with a retention policy, you can either retain data or delete data in-place, or do both.
B. What is a Retention Label?
On the other hand, retention labels in Microsoft 365 allow organizations to classify data for retention based on the content’s value. These labels, when applied, can trigger actions like retaining data for a specific duration of time or deleting it upon reaching its designated end of life.
Comparison Between Retention Policies and Retention Labels
| Retention Policies | Retention Labels |
|---|---|
| Applied at a broad level across the entire organization. | Assigned at a document or email level, giving more granular control. |
| Cannot be assigned by end users. | Can be applied by users who understand the relevance of the content. |
| Active measures needed to ensure they’re being applied and complied with. | Once applied, automated measures ensure compliance. |
C. Examples of Retention Policy and Labels Usage
To illustrate how both work, let’s consider the scenario of an organization that needs to comply with industry regulations requiring the retention of email communication and document data for seven years.
- With a retention policy, the organization can define that all data in Exchange mailboxes and SharePoint sites are to be preserved for seven years. This policy is usually implemented at the level of an organization or specific locations (like Exchange, SharePoint, or OneDrive).
Example of a broad-level retention policy:
new RetentionCompliancePolicy -Name "General RetentionPolicy" -ExchangeLocation all -SharePointLocation all -RetentionDuration 2555 -RetentionAction retainandthenDelete
- Retention labels, on the other hand, can be used to classify specific emails or documents that need to be retained for the same period or perhaps longer. A user, knowing that a particular document has significance, can apply a retention label titled “Preserve for ten years” to that specific document.
Example of a granular retention label:
New-RetentionComplianceTag -Name "Preserve for ten years" -RetentionEnabled $true -RetentionAction RetainAndDelete -RetentionDuration 3650
In summary, understanding Retention Policies and Retention Labels is crucial for data governance in Microsoft 365. It not only helps in compliance with industry regulations but also helps manage and organize information effectively within the organization. As you prepare for the SC-900 exam, be sure to gain hands-on experience with these features in the Microsoft 365 compliance center.
Practice Test
True or False: Retention labels can be used to classify data in Office 365 for governance.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Retention labels are tags that can be applied to specify behaviour policies for documents, mailboxes, and other data across Office
Which of the following can you apply retention labels to?
- a) Microsoft Teams
- b) SharePoint Online
- c) Microsoft 365 Groups
- d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
Explanation: Retention labels can be applied across all categories of data, including Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online, and Microsoft 365 Groups data.
True or False: A retention policy applies to all content in your organization.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Retention policies don’t apply to all content. Specific content can be included or excluded based on the settings of each retention policy.
A retention policy is enforced based on:
- a) The time of creation
- b) The time of modification
- c) The current date
- d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
Explanation: Retention policies can be enforced based on the time of creation, time of last modification, or the current date.
True or False: Retention labels supersede retention policies.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: When a retention label and a retention policy are applied to the same content, the retention label takes precedence.
Retention policies in Office 365 are part of:
- a) Compliance center
- b) Exchange admin center
- c) SharePoint admin center
- d) Azure portal
Answer: a) Compliance center
Explanation: Retention policies are part of the Microsoft 365 compliance center where administrators can define how data is managed.
Retention Policies can be placed on:
- a) Users
- b) Locations
- c) Groups
- d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
Explanation: Retention policies can be applied to various scopes such as users, locations, or groups depending upon the requirement.
What kind of actions can be accomplished with retention labels in Office 365?
- a) Retaining content
- b) Deleting content
- c) Triggering a review
- d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
Explanation: Retention labels in Office 365 allow you to retain content, delete content after a certain period, or even trigger a review when certain conditions are met.
True or False: Retention labels can be auto-applied based on sensitive information types.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Auto-apply features can be used to apply retention labels to content containing sensitive information types or specific keywords.
Retention Perimeters define
- a) The duration of retaining data
- b) The scope of data retention
- c) The frequency of data backups
- d) None of the above
Answer: b) The scope of data retention
Explanation: Retention perimeters in Microsoft 365 define what will be covered by a retention policy. This refers to the content’s scope that a retention policy will apply to.
True or False: You can use both retention policies and litigation holds for preserving content in Office 365
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Retention policies and litigation holds are both tools used for preserving content within Office The use of one doesn’t exclude the use of the other.
Retention Labels can be published by
- a) Label policy
- b) Retention policy
- c) Security policy
- d) Privacy policy
Answer: a) Label policy
Explanation: Only a label policy can publish retention labels. Retention labels can’t be published through other available policies.
True or False: you have to wait 24 hours to start a retention policy.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: After creating or modifying a retention policy, it may take up to 24 hours for the policy to start.
Retention labels in Microsoft 365 allow administrators to:
- a) Delete content after specified period
- b) Mark content as a record
- c) Ensure content is kept for a specified period
- d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
Explanation: Retention labels can assist with a variety of data management tasks including deleting content after a specific period, marking content as a record, and retaining content for a specified period.
True or False: Retention labels cannot be applied to third-party data in Office 365
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Integration with third-party solutions and applying retention labels to third-party data is possible. However, it requires additional configuration.
Interview Questions
What are Retention Policies in the context of Microsoft 365 compliance?
Retention Policies in Microsoft 365 compliance are rules made to specify how long certain data types should be kept and what action should be taken when the data reaches its retention age.
Can you explain the term “retention age”?
The retention age is the period of time that data remains in a system before it is either deleted or moved. The calculation of retention age can start from the date of creation, last modification, or based on a date in a certain property of this item/document.
What is the function of Retention Labels?
Retention Labels in Microsoft 365 allow users to classify data across the organization for governance, and enforce rules for retaining or deleting the data based on that classification.
What happens at the end of a Retention Policy’s duration?
At the end of a retention policy’s duration, depending on the policy setup, the data can be moved to a different location for preservation or it can be permanently deleted.
Can Retention Labels overwrite Retention Policies?
Yes. If a retention label is applied to an item, it will override any retention policy applied to the site or mailbox where the item is located.
How can Retention Labels be applied?
Retention Labels can be applied in three ways: manually by users, automatically based on conditions like keyword queries or sensitive info types, or by default to a document library.
What is an “Indefinite Retention Policy”?
An Indefinite Retention Policy is a policy that retains data without a specified end date. The data remains in a system until it’s manually deleted.
What is the difference between a Retention Policy and a Retention Label?
A Retention Policy is applied at a site or mailbox level, whereas a Retention Label is applied on a file, document or email. A Retention Label can override a Retention Policy.
Can you explain the term “Preservation Lock”?
A Preservation Lock is a restriction that can be applied to a Retention Policy to prevent users from disabling, changing or deleting the policy, thereby ensuring that the data is preserved without alteration.
What are some of the features of Retention Labels?
Features of Retention Labels include classification of data for governance, automating retention based on that classification, applying labels manually or automatically, applying a default label to a document library, and supporting records management by declaring a record that can’t be edited or deleted.
Can an item with a Retention Label be modified or deleted before it reaches its retention age?
Yes, an item with a Retention Label can be modified. But if the item is deleted, a copy of the item will be retained until it reaches its retention age.
What is the ‘period of validity’ relating to Retention Policies?
The ‘period of validity’ refers to the duration for which the Retention Policy is effective, after which defined actions (like deletion) will be taken on the data.
What happens if we apply multiple retention policies to a single document or email?
If multiple retention policies are applied to a single document or email, the longest retention period will take precedence.
Can a retention label be removed from a document by a user?
Users can change or remove the retention labels unless the Administrator has specifically restricted such actions.
What is ‘Retention Schedule’?
The ‘Retention Schedule’ is essentially the plan or timeline which outlines when certain data is moved to a managed state or deleted, based on Retention Policies and Retention Labels.
extutorials.com