Configuring protection after a label is applied

Question

Can I apply a label to a document and then reconfigure the label to encrypt a the document at a later date?

Answer 1

Hi jpcapone,

Thank you for posting query in Microsoft Q&A Platform.

Yes, you can apply a label to a document in Microsoft Purview and then reconfigure the label to encrypt the document at a later date. Here are the general steps to follow:

Create a label in Microsoft Purview that includes the encryption policy that you want to apply to the document. You can create a label in the Microsoft Purview portal under "Classifications" > "Labels".

Apply the label to the document in Microsoft Purview. You can apply the label to the document in the Microsoft Purview portal or using the Purview REST API.

Configure the encryption policy for the label. You can configure the encryption policy for the label in the Microsoft Purview portal under "Classifications" > "Labels" > "Encryption".

Wait for the label to propagate to the document. It may take some time for the label to propagate to the document, depending on the size of the document and the number of documents in your environment.

Once the label has propagated to the document, the encryption policy will be applied automatically. You can verify that the document is encrypted by checking the metadata for the document in Microsoft Purview.

By following these steps, you can apply a label to a document in Microsoft Purview and then reconfigure the label to encrypt the document at a later date. This can help you ensure that sensitive data is protected and compliant with regulatory requirements.

Answer 2

Editing labels to newly apply encryption or change existing encryption settings It's a common deployment strategy to initially configure sensitivity labels without encryption, and later edit some of the existing labels to apply encryption. The labels that you edit will apply that encryption for newly labeled items. Items that are already labeled remain unencrypted, unless you remove the label and reapply it.