One of the fundamental tenets of data security is knowing what data you have, classifying it, and protecting it based on that classification. Microsoft implement this in Microsoft 365 via Sensitivity Labels under their Information Protection solution.
Sensitivity Labels have been around for a long time in Microsoft Office, allowing users to classify content and protect it by applying rules on how that content can be shared and used. Sensitivity Labels can be used to automatically encrypt confidential documents, apply a “Confidential” watermark, or apply a label in the header or footer. I can also just be used to assign a label applying your company data classification without applying further protection, but enabling you to generate usage reports and see activity data for your sensitive content.
The use of Power BI has continued to grow, and the need to ensure you protect your data throughout its journey has never been more important. In support of this, in June of 2020 Microsoft made sensitivity labels in Power BI generally available (GA), on the web and in the Android and iOS mobile apps:
… and at the end of 2020 Microsoft released the public preview of sensitivity labels in Power BI Desktop:
Microsoft are continuing to release additional information protection capabilities to Power BI, providing an integrated and comprehensive environment for protecting your data across all Microsoft services:
- Make sensitivity labels mandatory (June 2021 – preview)
- Downstream inheritance for sensitivity labels (May 2021 – preview)
- Sensitivity labels in Power BI embedded (April 2021 – general availability)
- Securing the full data journey from Azure, to Power BI, and to Office (April 2021 – preview)
Make sure you’re providing your staff the tools, guidance and knowledge to protect your data; see Microsoft’s documentation on How to apply sensitivity labels in Power BI for details.