Another day, another Purview solution: Data Security Investigations
- welka2111
- Mar 28
- 3 min read
You know that saying "another day, another dollar"? Pretty sure when the songwriters came up with that, they weren’t talking about handing over your hard-earned cash to big tech. Yet, here we are, watching Microsoft introduce another premium pay-as-you-go product that will probably have you paying a little more.
Data Security Investigations - AI-powered deep content analysis: useful or just another expense?
Look, I’m a firm believer that organisations should be putting their money into preventative security measures. If you take data security seriously, there’s already a lot in the Microsoft Purview stack that helps you stay covered - Information Protection, Data Loss Prevention, Insider Risk Management… all these tools exist to prevent data leaks, breaches, insider risks, and data exfiltration from happening in the first place. No solution is completely bulletproof, but the best way to deal with a security incident is to not have one in the first place.
That being said, breaches still happen, and when they do, investigating them can be a slow and painful process. Enter Microsoft Purview Data Security Investigations (DSI) - the latest AI-driven tool that promises to speed things up when you’re in crisis mode.
Sounds great, right? Well, here’s the thing: wasn’t Copilot for Security supposed to be helping with data incidents already? Is DSI just a slightly less expensive version of letting AI assist with incident response? Microsoft is clearly making big investments into Purview, which is great, but I’m not entirely convinced this is a must-have solution - at least, not for me.
Why Microsoft thinks you need this
If you've ever had the pleasure (sarcasm intended) of dealing with a massive data breach - whether it's from some external villain or a disgruntled employee with a grudge - you know the drill. The race is on to figure out what’s been taken, who took it, and what fresh hell will come next.
Microsoft Purview DSI aims to speed up that painful process. Instead of relying on metadata and activity logs, it goes straight for the actual content of files, emails, Teams messages, and even Copilot interactions.
It promises to:
Identify what was compromised - finding exposed credentials, intellectual property, or sensitive financial data.
Trace how it happened - showing who accessed what, when, and from where.
Help mitigate risks faster - by giving real-time insights so you can patch up holes before things get worse.
And, of course, because Microsoft loves an integration, it works with Microsoft Defender XDR and Insider Risk Management, so it slots neatly into your existing security stack.
From the looks of it, you still need to have the entire Microsoft Purview stack neatly fine-tuned to avoid drowning in false positives. If your data loss prevention (DLP) policies, Insider Risk Management (IRM) policies and sensitivity labels aren’t already dialed in, DSI might just end up screaming that 1TB of New Zealand Social Welfare Numbers or Portuguese Tax Identification Numbers were stolen - when in reality, those data classifiers are notorious for being low-confidence out of the box and flagging wildly inaccurate matches. The last thing you want is an AI-powered panic attack over non-issues while the real threats slip by unnoticed. So, before jumping on the DSI bandwagon, make sure your broader Purview setup isn’t going to cause unnecessary chaos.
Sounds good… but let’s be real
Yes, this sounds useful. But do I need it? That’s where I’m not so sure.
We’ve been hearing for a while that Copilot for Security is supposed to be the game-changer when it comes to AI-assisted incident response. So, is DSI an essential new tool, or is this just another way to upsell AI-powered security investigations?
To be clear, I love that Microsoft is making big investments in Purview, and if you’re someone who regularly deals with security incidents, DSI might make your life easier. But if you’re already heavily invested in preventative security measures (as you should be), then I’m not entirely sure this is a must-have addition to your toolkit.
Either way, you can try it for yourself starting April 9 when it enters public preview. If you’re a Global Admin, you can enable Purview pay-as-you-go meters and start playing around with it.
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