Sensitive, engineering, and operational data were protected throughout the company through Microsoft 365 data control.

Overview 

A mid-sized energy distribution company in Australia, with about 750 employees, ran its entire operation on Microsoft 365 in the cloud. Their systems handled everything, from customer billing and HR info to engineering plans and critical SCADA documents. They wanted better control over data in Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. That’s where we helped them by aligning Microsoft 365 with necessary regulations to prevent data leaks and protect their intellectual property. 

Client Background

The customer is a mid-sized energy firm in Australia that uses Microsoft 365 for most of its daily operations. Their teams handle data related to critical operating systems, engineering documentation, HR records, and customer information. They encountered increasing demands to comply with the Australian Privacy Act, APRA CPS 234, and the SOCI Act as their operations grew and more procedures moved to the cloud. 

Challenges 

• Contractors and external partners needed regular access to operational files, but unsafe sharing raised the risk of exposing critical data.  
• The information moved across Exchange, Teams, or OneDrive difficult to follow and track, creating blind spots.  
• Existing security manuals were mostly reactive, providing room for attacks. 
• Lack of proper data handling by employees caused unintentional data leakage risks. 
• With regulations becoming strict, even small mistakes could lead to serious compliance issues or cost them dollars.  
• Risk of being non-compliant with strict regulations & compliance, and fear of financial penalties. 
• Insufficient protection of intellectual property led to the vulnerability of engineering blueprints and SCADA documentation. 

Solutions 

They adopted Microsoft Purview DLP as the backbone for protecting sensitive data. The rollout was carried out in carefully planned phases that balanced security needs with everyday operations.  

• Phase 1: Assessment & Discovery 
  Identification of sensitive data types with Purview Content Explorer and Activity Explorer.  
• Phase 2: Policy Design 
  Creation of custom SITs (Sensitive Information Types) for SCADA and engineering data, configuring policies with policy tips to guide user behavior.  
• Phase 3: Pilot 
  Deployment of audit-only policies across risk-prone departments, evaluation of false positives, and refinement through engineering feedback.  
• Phase 4: Rollout 
  Organization-wide activation of policies across Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, integrating with conditional access and Defender for cloud apps, supported by staff and contractor training programs.  
• Phase 5: Monitoring & Optimization 
  Ongoing incident reviews through the Purview Compliance portal, compliance reporting to leadership, and quarterly SIT updates. 

Business Value Propositions 

• 70% reduction in accidental external data sharing within 3 months.  
• Improved user awareness with policy tips.  
• Reduced audit complexity under APRA CPS 234 and the Privacy Act via strong compliance. 
• Maintained engineer productivity while enabling controlled vendor collaboration. 
• Compliance officers ensured policies met both regulatory mandates and core business priorities. 

Final Perspective