Google Boosts Security And Data Control In G Suite Productivity Apps

Google is boosting the security of its G Suite of productivity software, to introduce enterprise-grade controls and visibility into the cloud-based apps portfolio.

With Google claiming to have three million paying customers from businesses that rely on G Suite, offering improved security and data protection tools come just in time given the almost relentless year-on-year increase in cyber attacks and malware infections.

Driving security in G Suite

The updates will give the administrators of G Suite within a business more powerful controls over access to the apps and enforce them with the use of security keys, as well as introducing analytics functions to provide insight into security risks and data protection through the connection of Google’s  BigQuery data warehouse to Google’s email software.

“Gmail logs contain valuable information that can help administrators diagnose issues or unlock insights. Today, we are making it easier to analyse Gmail logs with a preconfigured BigQuery integration so administrators can run sophisticated, high-performing custom queries, analyse their data and build custom dashboards,” said Google’s G Suite product manager Reena Nadkarni.

Google will also boost data control with the Data Loss Prevention (DLP) function for Google Drive, Gmail, and bring in administrator enforceable secure/multipurpose Internet mail extensions encryption to Gmail.

“When it comes to Gmail security, there are dozens of security measures running behind the scenes to keep your emails safe, and we support industry-standard authentication to help combat email spoofing. Unfortunately, other email services that you exchange emails with might not take similar measures to protect your data,” explained Nadkarni.

“That’s why we’re offering additional protection by giving you the option to bring your own certificates for S/MIME encryption. Administrators will be able to enforce S/MIME usage and can set DLP rules based on specific organizational unit needs.”

Nadkarni noted that this is all part of a drive by Google to push more security options into the G Suite.

 “Having greater control and visibility when protecting sensitive assets, however, should also be a top concern in today’s world. That’s why starting today, we’re giving customers the critical control and visibility they expect (and their CTOs and regulators often require) in G Suite,” she said.

Google is getting ever more serious about security, having boasted strong results of its big bounty programme, and cracking down on web security with the creation of its own Root Certificate Authority.

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