What to Do About the SC-400 Certification Retirement?

🚨 Big News for IT, Data Security, Compliance and Purview Professionals! 🚨

Microsoft has announced the retirement of the SC-400: Microsoft Information Protection Administrator certification, effective May 31, 2025. This change impacts both current SC-400 certification holders and those preparing for the exam. As the IT landscape evolves, Microsoft is shifting its focus towards more comprehensive security administration, leading to the introduction of the new SC-401 certification. 🔒

Wondering how this change will affect your certification journey? This transition may seem daunting, but with the right information and preparation, you can navigate it effectively and continue to advance your career in information security. ✨ The new SC-401 certification offers a more robust focus on security administration, aligning with the latest industry trends. 🌟

In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the retirement of the SC-400 certification, the introduction of the SC-401 certification, and how to make the most of this change. 🌟

What To Do If You Already Hold the SC-400 Certification

Good news! Your SC-400 certification remains valid until its expiration date. Additionally:

• It will still appear in your certification history.
• You can renew it at no cost before May 31, 2025.

However, after this date:

• SC-400 will no longer be available for new candidates or renewals.
• If you’re considering a renewal, make sure to complete it before the deadline.

However, after this date, SC-400 will no longer be available for new candidates or renewals. If you’re considering a renewal, be sure to complete it before the retirement deadline.

What To Do If You If You Are Preparing for the SC-400 Certification

You have two clear options to consider:

Take the SC-400 Exam Before May 31, 2025

• ✅ Advantage: Your SC-400 certification will be recorded in your certification history.
• ⚠️ Drawback: You cannot review the SC-400 once it expires, so if you require a current certification, you will be required to take the SC-401 exam at an additional cost.

Prepare for the SC-401 Certification Instead

• ✅ Advantage: SC-401 focuses on security-driven administration, which is a growing focus area.
• ⚠️ Drawback: SC-401 introduces new study areas, requiring a different preparation approach.

Overview of the new SC-401 Certification

The SC-401: Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365 Certification represents a shift from compliance and governance to security administration. Here’s a summary of the SC-401 exam syllabus:

Implement Information Protection (30-35%)

• Data Classification: Identify sensitive information requirements, create custom sensitive info types, document fingerprinting, exact data match classifiers, trainable classifiers, and monitor data classification.
• Sensitivity Labels: Implement roles and permissions, define and create labels, configure protection settings, manage publishing and auto-labeling policies, apply labels to containers and use Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps.
• Information Protection for Windows, File Shares, and Exchange: Plan and implement the Microsoft Purview Information Protection client, manage files, apply bulk classification, and design message encryption.

Implement Data Loss Prevention and Retention (30-35%)

• Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Policies: Design policies, implement roles and permissions, configure policies for Adaptive Protection, interpret policy precedence, and create file policies in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps.
• Endpoint DLP: Specify device requirements, configure advanced DLP rules, settings, just-in-time protection, and monitor endpoint activities.
• Retention: Plan for information retention, create and manage adaptive scopes, retention labels, policies, and recover retained content.

Manage Risks, Alerts, and Activities (30-35%)

• Insider Risk Management: Implement roles and permissions, connectors, integration with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, configure settings, policy indicators, templates, manage policies, forensic evidence, alerts, cases, and workflow.
• Information Security Alerts and Activities: Assign Microsoft Purview Audit user licenses, investigate activities, configure audit retention policies, analyze activities, respond to alerts, and perform searches.
• Protect Data Used by AI Services: Implement controls in Microsoft Purview and Microsoft 365 productivity workloads, pre-requisites for Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) for AI, manage roles and permissions, configure policies, and monitor activities.

As shown in the list above, the certification no longer covers compliance-specific areas such as Communications Compliance, Compliance Manager, and eDiscovery.

Target Audience for the SC-401 Exam

The SC-401 exam, titled Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365, is designed for professionals who are responsible for implementing and managing security measures within Microsoft 365 environments. The ideal candidates for this certification include:

Security Administrators

Security administrators are tasked with safeguarding an organization’s data and ensuring robust security measures are in place. This exam is perfect for those who need to deepen their understanding of Microsoft 365 security solutions, data protection, and risk management.

IT Professionals

IT professionals involved in the administration and management of Microsoft 365 environments will find this certification beneficial. It helps them gain expertise in information protection, data loss prevention, and compliance requirements, which are crucial for maintaining a secure and compliant infrastructure.

Compliance Officers

Compliance officers ensure that organizations adhere to regulatory requirements and internal policies. This exam equips them with the knowledge to manage data classification, retention policies, and security alerts, enabling them to effectively oversee compliance within Microsoft 365.

Risk Managers

Risk managers focus on identifying and mitigating risks within an organization. The SC-401 certification provides them with the skills needed to implement insider risk management, monitor security alerts, and investigate activities, helping them to proactively manage and reduce risks.

Data Protection Specialists

Data protection specialists are dedicated to safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring data privacy. This exam covers key areas such as sensitivity labels, encryption, and data lifecycle management, making it ideal for professionals who specialize in data protection.

Microsoft 365 Administrators

Microsoft 365 administrators are responsible for managing and configuring Microsoft 365 services. The SC-401 certification enhances their ability to use Microsoft Purview, endpoint DLP, and information protection solutions to maintain a secure and efficient environment.

SC-400 vs. SC-401: Key Changes

SC-400 certification, titled Administering Information Protection and Compliance in Microsoft 365

The SC-400 primarily focused on compliance, data lifecycle management, and regulatory adherence using Microsoft Purview. The exam covers four key areas, each with varying percentages.

1. Implement Information Protection: This area focuses on configuring and managing information protection solutions to safeguard sensitive data (25-30%).
2. Implement Data Loss Prevention: This involves setting up policies and mechanisms to prevent data loss (25-30%).
3. Implement Data Lifecycle and Records Management: This includes managing data lifecycle and records to ensure compliance (20-25%).
4. Monitor and Investigate Data and Activities: This area focuses on monitoring and responding to security risks, alerts, and activities within Microsoft 365 environments (20-25%).

These areas are designed to test your ability to plan and implement information protection and compliance measures using Microsoft Purview and related services

SC-401 exam, titled Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365

In contrast, SC-401 shifts towards security administration, emphasizing data protection, risk mitigation, and threat response within Microsoft 365. The exam covers three key areas, each with an equal weight of 30-35%.

1. Implement Information Protection: This includes configuring and managing information protection solutions to safeguard sensitive data.
2. Implement Data Loss Prevention and Retention: This involves setting up policies and mechanisms to prevent data loss and ensure data retention.
3. Manage Risks, Alerts, and Activities: This area focuses on monitoring and responding to security risks, alerts, and activities within Microsoft 365 environments.

These areas are designed to test your ability to plan and implement information security measures using Microsoft Purview and related services

The table below outlines what remains the same, what’s being removed, and what’s newly introduced in SC-401:

SC-400 vs. SC-401 Comparison

Feature	SC-400 (Retiring)	SC-401 (New)
Focus	Compliance & data governance	Information security & risk mitigation
Information Protection	Sensitive Info Types, Trainable Classifiers, Sensitivity Labels, Encryption, Purview Scanner	Same + OCR support, Defender for Cloud Apps Labels, Purview Info Protection Client
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)	Managing DLP Policies, Endpoint DLP, Defender for Cloud Apps File Policies	Same + DLP with Adaptive Protection, Just-in-Time Protection
Risk Management	Insider Risk Management, Forensic Evidence	Same + Defender for Endpoint Integration, Adaptive Protection
Compliance	Communications Compliance, Compliance Manager, Content Search, eDiscovery, Information Barriers	Removed except Content Search
Data Lifecycle Management	Data Retention, Records Management, Adaptive Scopes	Same
Security Monitoring	Purview Audit, Alerts	Same + Microsoft Defender XDR, Defender for Cloud Apps Alerts
Data Protection for AI	Not covered	Data Security Posture Management for AI (DSPM for AI)
Target Role	Compliance & governance specialists	Security administrators, risk managers
Link to full exam study guide	Study guide for Exam SC-400: Administering Information Protection and Compliance in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn	Study guide for Exam SC-401: Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn

Note: Compliance-focused areas such as Communications Compliance, Compliance Manager, and eDiscovery are removed from SC-401.

FAQs

Next Steps

If your SC-400 certification is nearing expiration or you’re preparing for a new certification, the transition to SC-401 could help keep your skills relevant in the evolving Microsoft 365 landscape. To get started:

• Download the official SC-401 study guide.
• Begin preparing for exams now.

Take charge of your career by embracing these changes and staying ahead of the curve in the IT certification world.