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sc-401Associate

Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365

Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Associate

SC-401 is Purview with a data-security lens rather than the older records-management one. The path follows the exam's shape — protect (labels, encryption), prevent loss (DLP), manage lifecycle (retention), then insider risk and the AI-era controls around Copilot.

For: Purview administrators: sensitivity labels, DLP, retention, insider risk, and the data-security side of Copilot. Replaced SC-400.

Official exam page and skills outline ↗Path: Purview information protection
21 guides in 4sections. The sections are this site's grouping, written to follow the shape of the published skills outline; weightings and the current outline live on the exam page above and change between exam versions.

01Information protection

  1. 1What is Microsoft Purview?What Microsoft Purview is: labels, DLP, retention, eDiscovery, insider risk, and the data-governance catalogue — how the two halves differ and where to start.
  2. 2Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels — a deep diveHow Purview sensitivity labels classify and protect content, how to design a taxonomy that survives contact with users, and the rollout order that works.
  3. 3Purview auto-labelling policiesHow auto-labelling applies sensitivity and retention labels automatically based on content match — and the operational realities.
  4. 4How to publish sensitivity labels in Microsoft PurviewHow-toHow to publish sensitivity labels in Microsoft Purview: create the label set, configure encryption and marking, publish a label policy, set defaults, pilot.
  5. 5Sensitivity labels for Teams meetingsHow sensitivity labels apply to Teams meetings — controlling who can join, what's allowed, and how the meeting is protected.
  6. 6Office 365 Message Encryption deep diveHow OME works under the hood — encryption flow, branding, custom templates, and the recipient experience.
  7. 7Customer Key for Microsoft 365How Customer Key lets you bring your own encryption keys for Microsoft 365 service encryption — and when to use it.

02Data loss prevention

  1. 8Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention — a deep diveDLP policies detect and prevent sensitive data from leaving Microsoft 365. Here's the architecture and how to roll them out.
  2. 9How to create a DLP policy in Microsoft PurviewHow-toHow to create a DLP policy in Microsoft Purview for card and personal data: locations, sensitive info types, rules and actions, simulation mode, enforcement.
  3. 10Power Platform DLP policiesHow Power Platform DLP policies govern which connectors apps and flows can combine — for data protection at the platform layer.

03Retention and lifecycle

  1. 11Purview retention policies explainedHow Microsoft Purview retention policies keep and delete content across Microsoft 365 — the model and the gotchas.
  2. 12How to create a retention policy in Microsoft PurviewHow-toHow to create a retention policy in Microsoft Purview: static or adaptive scope, locations, retain-then-delete settings, and rolling it out without surprises.
  3. 13Microsoft Purview records managementRecords management is retention with teeth — declaring content as a record locks it for legal/regulatory compliance.
  4. 14Microsoft Purview audit retentionHow long Microsoft 365 retains audit logs by default, what Audit (Premium) adds, and how to think about retention.
  5. 15How to search the audit log in Microsoft PurviewHow-toHow to search the Microsoft 365 unified audit log in Purview: check it's on, search by activity, user, and date, export, and Search-UnifiedAuditLog at scale.

04Insider risk and AI data security

  1. 16Purview Insider Risk ManagementInsider Risk Management detects risky internal behaviour — data theft, IP leakage, policy violations — with built-in privacy controls.
  2. 17Purview Communication ComplianceCommunication Compliance reviews emails, Teams chats, and Viva Engage messages against policy. Here's the model.
  3. 18Purview Information BarriersInformation Barriers prevent specific groups of users from communicating or collaborating — for regulatory, ethical, or legal reasons.
  4. 19Microsoft 365 Copilot data security and privacyHow Microsoft 365 Copilot handles your tenant's data — what's sent to the model, what's retained, and what compliance covers.
  5. 20Restricted Content Discovery for CopilotHow SharePoint Restricted Content Discovery hides sensitive sites from Microsoft 365 Copilot without breaking access, how it works with labels, and its limits.
  6. 21Microsoft Purview Data MapThe Data Map is the data governance side of Purview — discovering, classifying, and cataloguing data across the enterprise.

Independent site, not affiliated with Microsoft. Found a gap in this path? Send it through the contact form.