Microsoft 365 Information Barriers

• Information Barriers is a Microsoft 365 E5 feature that may help an organization reduce conflict-of-interest risks created by inappropriate employee access to sensitive information.
• Information barriers are currently supported with Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive for Business Online.
• There are significant technical prerequisites and dependencies that administrators must address before creating and maintaining the barriers.

Information Barriers limit communications between certain employees or groups of employees, within supported Microsoft 365 messaging systems, including Teams. For organizations that understand their communication governance risks and have implemented appropriate governance policies for their messaging systems, Information Barriers may stop inappropriate communications that might create a conflict of interest or expose proprietary information. Configuration of Information Barrier policies requires coordination between IT teams, who implement Information Barrier’s policies, and human resources (HR), legal, and information owners, who must review and decide where in the organization such barriers should be erected.