Is DLP included in Office 365?

Answered by Antonio Sutton

DLP (Data Loss Prevention) is included in Office 365 and specifically in the Office 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E3 plans. DLP is a crucial feature that helps protect sensitive information and prevent data leaks within an organization.

With DLP in Office 365, you can set up policies to identify and protect sensitive information across various Office 365 services, including SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and Exchange Online. These services form the backbone of collaboration and communication within organizations, making it essential to have robust data protection measures in place.

DLP in Office 365 allows you to define rules and policies to detect sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, or other custom-defined data patterns or keywords. When sensitive information is detected, you can take actions such as blocking access, encrypting the content, notifying users, or even automatically applying retention or deletion policies.

For example, let’s say you have a policy in place to detect and protect credit card numbers. If a user attempts to share a document containing credit card numbers through SharePoint Online, OneDrive, or Exchange Online, DLP will automatically detect this and apply the defined actions. This ensures that sensitive information does not leak outside the organization or fall into the wrong hands.

Additionally, it’s important to note that Teams, which has become a vital collaboration tool for many organizations, also leverages SharePoint Online and OneDrive for file sharing. Therefore, DLP protection is extended to files shared within Teams as well. However, it’s worth mentioning that while DLP protection for files shared in Teams is included in Office 365 and Microsoft 365 E3, support for DLP protection in Teams Chat requires an upgrade to the E5 plan.

To summarize, DLP protection is indeed included in Office 365 and Microsoft 365 E3 plans, providing organizations with the ability to identify and safeguard sensitive information across SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Exchange Online, and files shared through Teams. This feature helps prevent data leaks, protect sensitive data, and maintain compliance with data protection regulations.