In today’s digital-first world, data is everywhere—and so are the risks. From donor records to financial reports, sensitive information flows across emails, documents, and cloud platforms. In keeping with the Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme, this is the perfect time to ask:
Do you know where your sensitive data lives—and how well it’s protected?
Enter Microsoft Purview, a unified data governance and compliance solution designed to help organizations discover, classify, and safeguard sensitive information across Microsoft 365 and beyond.
Why Knowing Your Risk Matters
Data breaches don’t just cost money—they erode trust. Whether you're a nonprofit, healthcare provider, or public sector agency, protecting sensitive data is essential to maintaining credibility and fulfilling your mission.
But you can’t protect what you can’t see. That’s where Microsoft Purview comes in.
What Microsoft Purview Can Do for You
- Discover Sensitive Data Automatically: Purview uses built-in AI and machine learning to scan your environment—emails, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and more—to identify sensitive content like PII, financial data, and health records.
- Classify and Label Content Intelligently: With sensitivity labels and data classification policies, Purview helps you tag and track sensitive data based on its risk level and regulatory requirements.
- Prevent Data Loss Before It Happens: Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies allow you to block or warn users before sensitive data is shared externally or stored in risky locations.
- Monitor Insider Risk and Compliance: Purview’s Insider Risk Management and Compliance Manager tools help you detect risky behavior, enforce policies, and stay audit-ready.
- Extend Protection Beyond Microsoft 365: Purview integrates with third-party apps and on-premises data sources, giving you a holistic view of your data landscape.
Real-World Impact
A global nonprofit recently used Microsoft Purview to scan thousands of documents and emails for donor information. Within days, they identified exposure risks, applied sensitivity labels, and implemented DLP policies—reducing their compliance risk by over 40%.
Getting Started with Microsoft Purview
1. Set Up Your Purview Account
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- Sign in at portal.azure.com, search for “Microsoft Purview accounts,” and click Create to begin setting up a new Purview account.
- Click Create to start a new Purview account.
- Sign in at portal.azure.com, search for “Microsoft Purview accounts,” and click Create to begin setting up a new Purview account.
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- Choose your subscription, resource group, region and account name.
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- Click Review + Create, then Create
- Click on Go to resource once your deployment is complete to go to the Purview account’s overview page.
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- From there, click “Open Microsoft Purview Governance Portal” and choose either the New or Classic experience, depending on your preferred interface, to launch Purview Studio.
2. Connect and Scan Data Sources
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- Once inside Purview Studio, navigate to the left-hand menu and select “Data Map” to open the Data Sources page.
- Once inside Purview Studio, navigate to the left-hand menu and select “Data Map” to open the Data Sources page.
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- Click “Register” to add a new data source
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- Choose from supported sources such as Azure Data Lake, SQL databases, SharePoint, Amazon S3 and more.
- Choose from supported sources such as Azure Data Lake, SQL databases, SharePoint, Amazon S3 and more.
3. Define Governance Policies
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- Once your data sources are connected and scanned, it's time to establish governance policies to protect and manage your sensitive information.
- You Can:
- Use sensitivity labels to classify and protect data across Microsoft 365 - Create and publish sensitivity labels | Microsoft Learn
- Manage access using role-based permissions in Purview’s governance portal - Access control in the classic Microsoft Purview governance portal | Microsoft Learn
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Create DLP policies to monitor and prevent the sharing of sensitive data - Learn about data loss prevention | Microsoft Learn
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Detect and respond to risky user behavior with built-in analytics and privacy controls - Learn about Insider Risk Management | Microsoft Learn
- Manage metadata, lineage, and governance domains across your data estate - Learn about Microsoft Purview Unified Catalog | Microsoft Learn
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Track regulatory requirements, assess risk, and manage improvement actions- Get started with Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager | Microsoft Learn
- Once your data sources are connected and scanned, it's time to establish governance policies to protect and manage your sensitive information.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity Awareness Month is more than a reminder—it's a call to action. In a world where data moves faster than ever, visibility and control are no longer luxuries—they're necessities. Microsoft Purview empowers organizations to take charge of their data, uncover hidden risks, and build a culture of trust and resilience.
Whether you're just starting your governance journey or looking to strengthen existing policies, Purview offers the tools to discover, classify, and protect sensitive information across your entire digital estate. From automated scans to intelligent labeling and real-time risk management, it's your partner in proactive data defense.
This month, make cybersecurity more than a priority—make it a practice. Start with Purview. Stay secure. Lead with confidence.
