Applying sensitivity label to Office documents

Documents containing sensitive or classified data (marked as "red data") must have a sensitivity label if you want to store them in MS 365 (OneDrive, Teams, Sharepoint). This protects the content by applying both encryption and access control. For more information on "red data," please view UiO's guide on information classification.

• Encryption of this kind prevents documents with sensitivity labels from being copied, printed, or screenshotted.
• Access control restricts which individuals or groups can read or edit the documents.
• If you need to share documents with a sensitivity label, you share a link to the document rather than the document itself. In other words, apply a sensitivity label, ensure the correct people have appropriate access, and send them the link to the document.
  • Read more about why you should share links, not e-mail attachments.
  • Read more about sharing documents with sensitive infromation without sending them as e-mail attachments.

Note:

You can apply sensitivity labels to certain types of documents. At UiO, the most common document types that can use sensitivity labels are new Office documents and PDF files generated from Office documents. This applies to .docx, .pptx, and .xlsx files. If you have other file types containing classified information, view UiO's storage and sharing guide for instructions on handling them, or check the program's guides to see if it contains sensitivity labels.

Most employees have access to use sensitivity labels on Office documents. If you don¡¯t see this feature in Office, contact IT support to check your license and explore upgrade options.

Applying a Sensitivity Label to an Office Document on Windows

1. Open the document that needs a sensitivity label in the desktop application for the file type, such as Word. You cannot apply a sensitivity label in the online versions of Office apps or from Teams.
2. Click on Sensitivity in the toolbar.
   
3. Choose Red (In Confidence)
   
4. A window will appear where you must specify who should have read and write access to the file.
   • Check Restrict permission for this document to set the permissions.
     
     Read - Grants read-only access to the file
     Change - Grants editing rights to the file
   • Grant individuals read or edit rights by either entering their username in the format username@uio.no
   • You can also open the address book and search for the user you want to grant access to.
     
5. Click OK once you¡¯ve added everyone you want to share the document with.
6. The document is now protected by the sensitivity label. It can no longer be copied, printed, or screenshotted. Access control is also applied, allowing only those with permissions to open it.

Applying a Sensitivity Label to an Office Document on Mac

1. Open the document that needs a sensitivity label in the desktop application for its file type, such as Word. Sensitivity labels cannot be applied in the online versions of Office apps or from Teams.
2. Click on Sensitivity in the toolbar.
   
3. Choose Red (In Confidence).
   

• A window will appear where you must specify who should have read and write access to the file.
  
  Grant individuals read or edit rights by either entering their username in the format username@uio.no

5. Click OK once you¡¯ve added everyone you want to share the document with.
6. The document is now protected by the sensitivity label. It can no longer be copied, printed, or screenshotted. Access control is also applied, allowing only those with permissions to open it.

Removing a Sensitivity Label from a Document

NOTE: You should not remove the sensitivity label from a document while it contains sensitive information. If you have to remove the label from a document which still contains sensitive information (e.g. for archiving), you must keep it at a location which is not in MS365. Such a location coud be an access restricted shared drive.

If you need to remove a sensitivity label from a document, follow these steps:

1. Open the document with the sensitivity label in the desktop application for its file type, such as Word. Sensitivity labels cannot be removed in the online versions of Office apps or from Teams.
2. Click on Sensitivity in the toolbar.
   
3. Choose Red (In Confidence). This will remove the label.
   
4. Select one of the options for why the label should be removed, and then save the document.