Azure Rights Management for Information Rights Management

Active Directory (AD) Rights Management Services (RMS) uses encryption to enforce access policies on documents, including documents moved to unsecured file sharing or shared by e-mail. RMS protection allows organizations to secure sensitive data and to comply with privacy and disclosure regulations. A traditional RMS deployment required a complex on-premises configuration of servers and infrastructure, and the types of documents that could be protected and devices that could protect or consume content were limited. A new RMS and new technology available from Microsoft should make it easier to deploy, protect any document, and use with most popular devices.

Easier Deployment, Licensing, and Adoption

RMS is a Windows service that encrypts e-mails, files, and other types of business content to prevent access by unauthorized users. Unlike other protection mechanisms, such as access control lists (ACLs), which typically control who can read and change files stored in a file system, RMS protection travels with content to most devices. This allows RMS to continue to control access even if the content is moved to a computer that is outside an organization’s control. RMS also enables users to place restrictions on protected content (such as “user cannot print or forward”) that are enforced by RMS-compliant applications used to view the content. These restrictions can be circumvented (for example, by taking screen shots while content is being viewed in a Remote Desktop client window or using a camera or smartphone to take a picture of the screen), but they do help prevent casual or inadvertent disclosure of protected content.