Strategic Considerations, Technical Challenges, and Best Practices for IT Managers and Migration Teams.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The Problem
• The Solution
1. Classification
2. Encryption
3. Access Control
4. Data Loss Prevention
5. Change Management
• Conclusion

Copilot, an AI-powered assistant, promises to revolutionize productivity by seamlessly integrating with Microsoft 365 apps. By automating routine tasks and providing intelligent insights, Copilot enhances efficiency and allows users to focus on more strategic activities. However, with these benefits comes the critical responsibility of protecting sensitive and confidential information. This article outlines the potential risks associated with Copilot and provides strategies to safeguard your data, ensuring a secure and productive experience.

Because Copilot can surface information from across an organization’s content, poorly secured or unclassified sensitive data may be unintentionally exposed to users who were never meant to see it.

All organizations store confidential records within their network or in the cloud. Sometimes this content is not adequately secured or protected. Confidential or highly sensitive content that is not well protected might have been invisible in the past because an unauthorized person is not exactly looking for it or does not even know where to look. In enters Copilot, which in response to a perfectly innocuous or even malicious question by a user reaches into confidential records and unwittingly spills the beans. Worse yet, the user who asked the question, aware or not of its confidential nature, may now share this information with others. And now the cat is out of the bag.

Law departments and information governance staff across many organizations have concerns about the risk that Copilot may reveal sensitive information to unauthorized users or make confidential content available to the public.

Before diving into this new era of productivity with Copilot, safeguarding your data should be a top priority. There are obvious security measures that IT departments typically implement, like identity management and multi-factor authentication, which are essential to prevent unauthorized access, but do not monitor user behavior nor prevent users from sharing content with the wrong person. This is an existing risk that may be exacerbated with the use of Copilot.

The good news is that Microsoft has provided an extensive set of tools to help you protect your data. So, what are these tools and what steps should your organization take to protect your sensitive data, improve your security posture, and reduce risk ahead of a Copilot rollout?

1. Classification

To protect sensitive data, you must first determine which content is sensitive, then you need to find out where it is located and classify it appropriately.

Microsoft Purview Information Protection can help you identify sensitive content and classify it using sensitivity labels.

Steps to Implement Data Classification:

1. Identify Sensitive Information Types: Use Microsoft Purview’s built in sensitive information types and define additional types that are applicable to your business.
2. Create Sensitivity Labels: Develop sensitivity labels to classify and protect sensitive data. It is best to start with a simple list of sensitivity labels and avoid overcomplications. For example, your list of sensitivity labels may be as simple as: Public, Internal, Confidential, Restricted. In this example, sensitivity increases as you move up from Public and all the way to Restricted.
3. Apply Labels – Round 1: Automatically apply sensitivity labels to documents and emails based on sensitive information types and other rules. This first round can be completed quickly and takes care of the low hanging fruits.
4. Apply Labels – Round 2: Using sensitive information types is not sufficient to identify all documents which your organization considers to be confidential or sensitive. For a more comprehensive classification effort, consider taking a systematic approach such as analyzing all content and assigning content types which you associate with sensitivity labels. This activity can be accomplished with the help of an expert professional services organization utilizing the right file analysis tools.
5. Educate Users: It is vital to bring the user community along on the importance of classifying sensitive content and protecting it, including their role in handling the various types of sensitive content. With the right messaging and training, your users can be empowered to ensure new content gets classified appropriately.
6. Monitor and Review: Regularly monitor and review labeled content to ensure proper classification. With new insight, tweak your policies to ensure you the appropriate content is getting classified with the correct labels.

2. Encryption

Encryption is a critical component of data protection. It ensures that even if data is accessed by unauthorized users, it cannot be read or used without the appropriate decryption key. Implementing encryption for sensitive data both at rest and in transit is essential to safeguard your information.

In our sensitivity labels example, and using Microsoft Purview, you may choose to encrypt content labeled as Confidential or Restricted. Since encryption limits access to specific groups of authorized users, take the time to plan this carefully, and coordinate the encryption plan with the access permission applied to SharePoint sites and libraries.

3. Access Control

Access control mechanisms help ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive data. This includes implementing role-based access control (RBAC), which assigns permissions based on the user’s role within the organization. Regularly reviewing and updating access permissions is crucial to maintaining data security.

4. Data Loss Prevention

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies can help prevent the accidental or intentional sharing of sensitive information. DLP tools can monitor and control data transfers, ensuring that sensitive data is not sent to unauthorized recipients or locations.

5. Change Management

Information protection is not a feature you can just turn on and forget about it. Effective change management practices are necessary to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the new security measures and understand their importance. This includes initial and ongoing training of employees on data protection best practices. It also includes regularly communicating updates and changes to security policies.

A cultural shift in your organization may be necessary to raise awareness about data protection and adopt more secure behaviors. Consider leveraging Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention and Insider Risk Management modules to detect unsafe user behavior then implement appropriate messaging, education, and/or policies to change behavior.

By strengthening classification, encryption, access controls, and governance before deploying Copilot, organizations can safely unlock its productivity benefits while protecting sensitive information.

As organizations embrace the transformative capabilities of Copilot, it is crucial to prioritize data protection to mitigate the risks associated with exposing sensitive information. By implementing robust security measures such as data classification, encryption, access control, and data loss prevention, organizations can safeguard their confidential content and ensure compliance with industry regulations.

Change management and ongoing training are key to fostering a culture of data protection and secure behaviors within the organization. With these strategies in place, organizations can confidently leverage Copilot’s potential while maintaining the integrity and security of their sensitive data.