Information Barriers are policies in Microsoft 365 designed to prevent specific groups of users from communicating and collaborating with each other. This feature is used to avoid conflicts of interest or protect internal information by segmenting users, for example, by department. It restricts actions in Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, directly addressing the need to control communication and information sharing between defined groups. This is often referred to as creating an "ethical wall."

A. sensitivity label policies: These classify and protect data itself (e.g., via encryption) but do not restrict communication channels between user groups.

B. Customer Lockbox: This provides an audit trail and control over Microsoft support engineer access to your data, not internal user communication.

D. Privileged Access Management (PAM): This manages and controls just-in-time access for administrative roles, not communication between general users.

1. Microsoft Learn. (n.d.). Information barriers in Microsoft 365. Microsoft Purview documentation. Retrieved from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/information-barriers. In the "Information barriers in Microsoft 365" section

it states

"Information barriers are policies that an admin can configure to prevent individuals or groups from communicating with each other."

2. Microsoft Learn. (n.d.). Describe information protection and governance capabilities in Microsoft Purview. SC-900: Microsoft Security

Compliance

and Identity Fundamentals. Retrieved from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/modules/describe-information-protection-governance-capabilities-microsoft-365/4-describe-information-barriers. The "Information barriers" section provides a direct example: "...you can use information barriers to prevent the sales department from talking to the research department..."

3. Microsoft Learn. (n.d.). Learn about information barriers. Microsoft Purview documentation. Retrieved from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/information-barriers-solution-overview. The "How information barriers can help your organization" section states

"With information barriers

you can define policies that are designed to prevent certain segments of users from communicating with each other..."