Microsoft 365 admin center: New Support for Historical Data Uploads in Organizational Data in Microsoft 365

🚨 The Signal: Admins can now upload historical HR data via CSV to Microsoft 365, including effective dates. This improves data consistency for downstream apps like Viva Insights but introduces new data integrity and privacy considerations for sensitive HR information.

The Impact

Admins are affected by new data upload capabilities, increasing the risk of sensitive HR data exposure or misuse if not managed securely.

• Security Teams: Increased risk of sensitive HR data exposure if CSV files are not secured.
• Admins: New responsibility for ensuring historical data accuracy and privacy during upload.
• Compliance Teams: Requires review of data handling policies for historical HR data ingestion.
• Legal Teams: Potential implications for data privacy regulations with new data types.

The Action

1. Review and update data classification policies for historical HR data.
2. Implement strict access controls for CSV files containing sensitive HR data before upload.
3. Educate administrators on secure handling and privacy considerations for historical data uploads.
4. Audit existing data retention policies to include historical HR data ingested into M365.
5. Monitor M365 audit logs for unusual activity related to organizational data uploads.

Impact: medium · Workload: Microsoft Purview