32%

of organisations’ data security incidents involve the use of generative AI tools. Microsoft Data Security Index 2026.

Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Associate (SC-401) certification

Your Data Is Leaking Into AI.

A third of data security incidents now involve generative AI tools. SC-401 proves you can classify, label and protect data in Microsoft 365, including the data AI touches.

HRD Corp claimableYayasan Peneraju: may be eligibleKL or online

Exam

SC-401

Course

4 days

Course fee

RM3,000

With exam

RM3,374

Next intake

7 Dec 2026

Quick answer

What is Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Associate?

Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Associate validates that you can protect sensitive data with Microsoft Purview: classification and sensitivity labels, data loss prevention and retention, insider risk, and protecting data used by AI services. One 100-minute exam, SC-401, earns it.

Exam facts verified against learn.microsoft.com on 23 Oct 2026

FOR

Microsoft 365 administrators and data protection staff

ROLES

Information security administrator, Purview administrator, data protection analyst

SKIP IF

Microsoft 365 is new to you. Start with SC-900

01

The Credential

What you study, practise and sit to earn it.

Pass one exam, SC-401, and you hold Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Associate. It covers the controls that keep sensitive data in Microsoft 365, and in AI tools, where it belongs.

COURSE

4 days, SC-401T00

HANDS-ON

Microsoft Official Course labs

EXAM

SC-401, 100 min

CREDENTIAL

Microsoft Certified Associate

Awarded by

Microsoft

Level

Intermediate, associate

Prerequisites

None formal

Recommended

Microsoft 365, PowerShell, Entra and Defender portals

Validity

12 months, renew free online

Covers

Microsoft Purview, DLP, insider risk, AI data

02

Decide in 60 Seconds

Four options people weigh against each other.

If you want to

Choose

Why

Protect sensitive data in Microsoft 365 and AI

→

SC-401

Microsoft Purview classification, DLP and insider risk

Run identity and access with Microsoft Entra

→

SC-300

Users, authentication, apps and governance

Run a security and privacy compliance programme

→

ISC2 CGRC

Governance, risk and compliance lifecycle

Learn the ISMS standard

→

ISO/IEC 27001 Foundation

Two-day grounding in ISO 27001

No formal prerequisites. But are you ready?
0/4

Tick what applies. 3 or 4: you are ready for this course. Fewer: start with SC-900.

03

What the Exam Covers

Skills measured for exam SC-401. Bars to scale.

3 skill areasThree equal areas, 30 to 35% each

Implement Information Protection · 30–35%
Implement Data Loss Prevention and Retention · 30–35%
Manage Risks, Alerts and Activities · 30–35%

Source: Microsoft Learn SC-401 study guide. Microsoft publishes weightings as ranges; bars show the midpoint.

04

What the Course Covers

26 modules from the Microsoft Official Course SC-401T00, in five themes.

Four days of Microsoft Official Course training. You classify and label data, stop it leaving, watch for insider risk, then extend protection to AI apps and Copilot.

5 modules

Classify and Label

  • Classify data for protection and governance
  • Sensitive information types
  • Sensitivity labels in Microsoft Purview
  • Protect on-premises data
  • Microsoft 365 encryption and Purview Message Encryption

4 modules

Prevent Data Loss

  • Prevent data loss with Microsoft Purview
  • Endpoint DLP
  • DLP for Defender for Cloud Apps and Power Platform
  • Investigate DLP alerts

3 modules

Insider Risk

  • Insider Risk Management policies
  • Investigate insider risk alerts
  • Adaptive Protection

3 modules

Secure AI Data

  • Secure AI data with Microsoft Purview
  • Secure Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions
  • Secure enterprise, browser-based and developer AI apps

3 modules

Retain and Investigate

  • Retention and recovery in Microsoft 365
  • Microsoft Purview Audit
  • Microsoft Purview eDiscovery

Labs

in Microsoft Purview, including investigating a DLP alert and potential data theft with Insider Risk Management.

05

Why Now

Where data is leaking, what organisations are doing, and why train with us.

32%

of organisations’ data security incidents involve the use of generative AI tools

Microsoft Data Security Index 2026

47%

of organisations are implementing controls focused on generative AI workloads

Microsoft Data Security Index 2026

63%

of intrusions Microsoft observed involved data theft

Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2026

6 hrs

Six Hours to Report. Who’s Watching the Alerts?

Malaysia’s Cyber Security Act 2024 (Act 854) came into force on 26 August 2024. Critical infrastructure entities must report a cyber security incident within six hours, and managed SOC monitoring services now need a licence. Many of those incidents end with sensitive data walking out the door.

NACSA; Cyber Security (Notification of Cyber Security Incident) Regulations 2024

Microsoft Solutions Partner, Training Services

Delivering the Microsoft Official Course SC-401T00

Exam add-on

Add your exam for RM374

HRD Corp registered

This course is HRD Corp claimable

KL or online

Instructor-led in class or live online

06

The Cost, All In

Every figure per person, in ringgit.

Fees

Four-day courseRM3,000

Exam add-on (SC-401)RM374

Funding

HRD Corp claim for employersClaimable

Yayasan Peneraju financing (Bumiputera)May be eligible

Course with exam

RM3,374

RM3,000 + RM374

Dates

Where

Fee

Mon 7 to Thu 10 Dec 2026

Kuala Lumpur or online

RM3,000 / RM3,374 with exam

Mon 15 to Thu 18 Feb 2027

Kuala Lumpur or online

RM3,000 / RM3,374 with exam

Tue 20 to Fri 23 Apr 2027

Kuala Lumpur or online

RM3,000 / RM3,374 with exam

Tue 15 to Fri 18 Jun 2027

Kuala Lumpur or online

RM3,000 / RM3,374 with exam

Tue 17 to Fri 20 Aug 2027

Kuala Lumpur or online

RM3,000 / RM3,374 with exam

Training a team? We run private intakes on dates that suit your organisation, with HRD Corp claims handled alongside you.

07

Exam and Renewal

What exam day looks like, and what happens after you pass.

Certification

Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Associate

Exam

SC-401

Duration

100 minutes, proctored

Passing score

700 or greater

Languages

English, Portuguese (Brazil), French, German, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Spanish

Scheduling

Through Pearson VUE

Retakes

After 24 hours for a second attempt

Exam add-on

RM374 through Trainocate

EVERY 12 MONTHS

Renew free online

Microsoft associate certifications expire after a year. Renew at no cost by passing an online assessment on Microsoft Learn.

STAY CURRENT

Learn what changed

The renewal assessment covers the latest product updates, so your skills stay in step with Microsoft security.

FAQ

Questions People Ask

What is SC-401?

SC-401, Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365, is the exam for Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Associate. It covers information protection, data loss prevention and retention, and managing risks, alerts and activities, including data used by AI.

Microsoft updated the skills measured on 28 Oct 2026 with a minor change to sensitivity labels in Microsoft Purview. The three skill areas and their weightings stay the same.

At Trainocate Malaysia the four-day SC-401T00 course is RM3,000 per person, or RM3,374 with the exam. The course is HRD Corp claimable, and Malaysian Bumiputera learners may be eligible for Yayasan Peneraju funding.

A proctored 100-minute exam, scheduled through Pearson VUE. You need 700 or more to pass. If you fail, you can retake it after 24 hours.

Yes. Protecting data used by AI services is part of the exam, and the course covers securing Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions and other AI apps with Microsoft Purview.

Microsoft 365 administrators and data protection staff who manage classification, DLP, retention and insider risk, often working alongside governance and compliance teams.

The certification is valid for 12 months. Renew it free by passing an online assessment on Microsoft Learn.

Keep Sensitive Data Where It Belongs

Pick an intake. An advisor confirms fees, HRD Corp claims and Yayasan Peneraju eligibility with you.

  • Next intake: 7 to Thu 10 Dec 2026
  • RM3,000, or RM3,374 with exam

Sources

  1. Microsoft Learn: Information Security Administrator Associate
  2. Microsoft Learn: SC-401 study guide
  3. Microsoft Learn: Renew your Microsoft certification
  4. Microsoft Security Blog: 2026 Data Security Index
  5. Microsoft: Digital Defense Report 2026
  6. Trainocate: SC-401T00 course page
  7. NACSA: Cyber Security Act 2024 (Act 854)
  8. MAICSA: Act 854 regulations summary