Getting Started with Microsoft Purview Information Protection
A practical introduction to sensitivity labels, DLP policies, and data lifecycle management in Microsoft Purview.
Introduction
Microsoft Purview Information Protection is one of the most powerful — and most underutilized — tools in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
What are Sensitivity Labels?
Sensitivity labels allow you to classify and protect your organization's data based on its sensitivity level. Labels can automatically apply encryption, watermarks, and access restrictions.
A typical label taxonomy looks like this:
- Public → no protection
- Internal → watermark only
- Confidential → encrypt, external block
- Regulated → encrypt + audit + 10y retention
Setting Up DLP Policies
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies work alongside sensitivity labels to prevent accidental sharing of sensitive information. You can configure policies to detect credit card numbers, BSN numbers, and custom sensitive information types.
Record Management and the Archiefwet
For organizations subject to Dutch archival law (Archiefwet 1995), Microsoft Purview Record Management provides tools to ensure documents are retained for the required period and disposed of properly.
Next Steps
In the next post I'll cover how to deploy sensitivity labels via Intune and how to integrate DLP with Microsoft Teams.