Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator ExpertImplement and manage Microsoft Purview complianceMedium

A global company needs to ensure that specific sensitive information types (SITs) unique to their industry, such as 'Pharmaceutical Batch ID' (e.g., 'BATCH-PHARMA-XYZ-12345') or 'Clinical Trial Protocol Number' (e.g., 'CTP-2023-007'), are consistently identified across all Microsoft 365 services. These SITs must be detectable by Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies and trigger auto-labeling for documents containing them. Which Microsoft Purview feature should the administrator use to define and deploy these industry-specific identifiers?

  1. ACustom sensitive information types (SITs)
  2. BKeyword dictionaries
  3. CTrainable classifiers
  4. DExact data match (EDM) sensitive information types
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A. Custom sensitive information types (SITs)

Custom sensitive information types (SITs) allow organizations to define their own patterns (using regular expressions, keywords, and functions) to identify unique, industry-specific sensitive data, making them detectable by DLP and auto-labeling policies.

Why the other options are wrong

  • B. Keyword dictionaries identify specific words or phrases but lack the pattern matching of regular expressions needed for structured IDs.
  • C. Trainable classifiers identify content based on examples, not specific, highly structured identifiers like batch IDs.
  • D. Exact data match (EDM) SITs identify exact matches from a structured data source, which is overkill and less flexible for pattern-based IDs compared to custom SITs.

Custom Sensitive Information Types (SITs)

Microsoft Purview feature that allows organizations to define their own patterns, keywords, and functions to identify unique, industry-specific, or proprietary sensitive data within Microsoft 365.

  • Uses regular expressions, keyword lists, and functions.
  • Essential for detecting unique organizational data patterns.
  • Integrates with DLP, auto-labeling, and communication compliance.

Memory trick: Custom SITs are your 'Secret ID Types' that Purview learns to 'Spot'.

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