The Microsoft 365 feature designed to restrict communication between specific groups of users is Microsoft Purview Information Barriers. This powerful compliance solution helps organizations prevent conflicts of interest and protect sensitive data by controlling which user segments can communicate, collaborate, or share information with each other within Microsoft 365 services.
Understanding Information Barriers
Information Barriers (IB) empower organizations to define and enforce policies that prevent specific groups of users from communicating or sharing data. This is crucial for industries like financial services, legal, and healthcare, where regulatory requirements often demand strict separation of duties and prevention of insider trading or information leakage.
How Information Barriers Work
At its core, Information Barriers functionality revolves around user segmentation and policy definition. A compliance administrator or an Information Barrier administrator defines policies that categorize users into distinct segments. These policies then dictate the communication flow, allowing or preventing interactions between different segments.
Key Capabilities:
- Segment Users: Organize your workforce into logical segments based on departments, roles, projects, or other criteria.
- Define Policies: Create rules that specify which segments can or cannot communicate with each other. For example, you can prevent users in the "Mergers & Acquisitions" team from communicating with users in the "Public Relations" team regarding specific sensitive projects.
- Enforce Restrictions: Once policies are active, Microsoft 365 services automatically enforce these restrictions, preventing unauthorized communication attempts.
Services Supported by Information Barriers
Microsoft Purview Information Barriers are integrated across key Microsoft 365 collaboration platforms to ensure comprehensive control over communication and data sharing.
| Microsoft 365 Service | Restriction Capability |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Teams | Prevents chats, calls, and meeting participation between restricted user groups. Users cannot add each other to new channels or conversations. |
| SharePoint Online | Restricts access to sites and limits the ability of users from different segments to share content or view each other's files. |
| OneDrive for Business | Limits content sharing and access among designated user groups, ensuring that sensitive documents are only shared with authorized individuals. |
Practical Applications and Benefits
Implementing Information Barriers is vital for maintaining compliance and safeguarding sensitive information within an organization.
Examples of Use Cases:
- Financial Services: Preventing investment banking teams from communicating with retail brokerage teams to avoid insider trading.
- Legal Firms: Separating legal teams working on opposing client cases to prevent conflicts of interest.
- Healthcare Providers: Restricting communication between research teams and clinical staff to ensure patient privacy and data confidentiality.
- Government Agencies: Segmenting personnel based on security clearances to control access to classified information.
Benefits of Using Information Barriers:
- Enhanced Compliance: Helps meet strict regulatory requirements (e.g., FINRA, GDPR, HIPAA) by enforcing ethical walls.
- Reduced Risk: Minimizes the risk of insider trading, conflicts of interest, and data breaches.
- Improved Data Governance: Provides granular control over information flow and access within the organization.
- Organizational Integrity: Upholds ethical standards and maintains a clear separation of duties.
For more detailed information on configuring and managing Information Barriers, you can refer to the Microsoft Purview documentation.
