Sharing Isn't Always Caring...

Sharing Isn't Always Caring...

Written by Kieron Vann , Digital Workspace Engineer

I’m back again with a different topic, shifting from the world of endpoint management to security. With this post, I wanted to talk about something that might sound a bit boring, but bear with us — it’s actually pretty important (and there might be a joke or two thrown in for good measure). We’re talking about Microsoft Sensitivity Labels.

Now, if you’re anything like us, you’ve probably sent an email or two that you wish you could unsend. Maybe you accidentally attached the wrong file, or maybe you hit “Reply All” when you meant to reply to just one person. It happens to the best of us. But what if that email contained sensitive information? You will have also seen in the news, scary stories of how a malicious actor — or hacker, has wreaked havoc and stolen masses of sensitive data and is threatening to either release the information publicly or sell it on the dark-web to other malicious parties.

That’s where sensitivity labels come in. They’re like little warning signs that you can attach to your emails and documents to let people know that they contain sensitive information. Labels are generally pre-defined by a Cyber Security team and could be named “Confidential”, “Internal Use Only” or “For Your Eyes Only” (cue the Bond theme).

Working in a business of any size or purpose, you need to be extra careful about protecting your company’s intellectual property and other trade secrets. But sensitivity labels aren’t just about protecting your secret files. They’re even more important for protecting personal information, like HR or payroll records for employees, or customer information such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and more.

But here’s the best part: with Microsoft Information Protection, we can set up policies so that certain actions are taken automatically based on the applied label. For example, you can require that all documents labeled “Confidential” be encrypted or that they can only be shared within the organisation. So, it’s like having your own personal security detail!

Something that is often missed but is an added benefit of using sensitivity labels, is that it gets you thinking about the data that you are handling. Most people will find themselves at some point in the day, handling some form of data. It may be saving a file to your device for use later, or sharing it with others both internally and externally. With sensitivity labels, you find yourself making conscious decisions about which label to use, where the data is going to be shared and how long it’s going to be used or shared for.

Now, we know what you’re thinking — “Great, another thing to remember when I’m sending an email. Just what I needed.” But fear not! Microsoft has made it super easy to use sensitivity labels. You can apply them with just a few clicks, or have them apply automatically to documents based on data inside the file matching certain rule criteria. Most of the time, you will be asked to apply them when saving or editing a document so it's no extra hassle.

So, next time you’re sending an email or working on a top-secret document, remember to add the right sensitivity label. It’s like a little insurance policy for your sensitive information. And who knows — maybe one day you’ll be the one saying “Sorry, I can’t share that information. It’s classified.” (Cue the Men in Black memory eraser.)