Prevent File Uploads Forcepoint Data Security Googledocs

TLDR?

• Google Workspace has become a go-to tool for companies of all sizes – but it's got some pretty severe security risks companies need to accost.
• Google lacks the native security tools to prevent sensitive data loss adequately. Its solutions aren't robust enough for enterprises in highly regulated industries or those who secure sensitive data in the deject.
• Without a deject-based DLP solution that brings granular visibility to Google Workspace, organizations are at a loftier take chances of suffering data leakage.

Google Workspace is a blossoming productivity suite that's fast catching up with the likes of Microsoft and Slack. With over 6 one thousand thousand enterprise customers and 2 billion monthly users, it has get a become-to tool for companies of all sizes.

In that location's a lot to dear about Google Workspace. This deject-based portfolio makes it easy to work and collaborate from anywhere. Plus, it's super intuitive to use and highly cost-effective for small businesses.

But, like all deject platforms, Google Workspace has security risks. We're non saying that Google is an insecure solution. By contrast, Google invests millions in keeping its cloud infrastructure secure. Even so, similar all deject applications, Google runs on the shared responsibility model.

This means that, while Google is responsible for securing its underlying cloud infrastructure, yous – the client – are responsible for ensuring that access controls and permissions are implemented correctly and that sensitive data is only accessed by authorized personnel.

Achieving this, though, is easier said than done. For one, Google lacks the native security tools to prevent sensitive data loss adequately. Moreover, companies cannot rely on traditional data loss prevention (DLP) solutions to secure data that resides in the deject.

Without a deject-based DLP solution that brings granular visibility to Google Workspace, organizations are at a high risk of suffering data leakage or fifty-fifty information theft. Equally we all know by now, this isn't an issue to be taken lightly.

According to IDC, 98% of companies experienced at least one deject data breach in the by 18 months, compared to 79% last yr. Meanwhile, 67% reported iii or more such violations, while 63% said they had sensitive data exposed. With the average cost of a data breach striking $4 million in 2021, companies must motion fast to ensure that data is secure in Google Workspace and other SaaS tools.

How does Google Workspace increase security risks?

Access anywhere, anytime can backfire

One of the main appeals of Google Workspace is that you only need access to the cyberspace to access your files. Your workspaces are constantly 'on', set up to be accessed anytime, anywhere. All the same, from a security perspective, this can cause issues.

If a malicious actor gains access to one of your employee's Google Workspace credentials, they could gain access to a vast amount of sensitive files – and view, edit, download or re-create the data they find.

A lack of visibility

Google Workspace's sharing capabilities can rapidly become a data security nightmare if you lot don't have the right governance policies in identify. For example, an employee could upload a sensitive file with PII to Google Drive then download it onto their personal mobile device. This is a compliance fine – but how is the Information technology squad to know?

Put just, if you lot haven't got the proper compliance framework in place for managing information sprawl in Google Workspace, it'southward likely that data leakage is occurring.

Misconfigurations

A misconfiguration is any cybersecurity mistake or gap that leaves your cloud surround – or the data stored in it – exposed to theft or loss. By 2025, Gartner predicts that 99% of cloud security failures will exist the client'south fault – and the biggest reason for these failures volition be misconfigurations.

As an example, let'south take Google Sheets. Let's say you lot've made a spreadsheet that contains sensitive fiscal information. Rather than setting the document to private, yous left it public.

This means that anyone can access the file if they have the link or stumble across it on the internet. Not only is this a compliance risk but, if the information gets into the wrong hands, it could accept severe consequences for your organization.

Unstructured information

Google Workspace environments are full of many different types of files: documents, videos, images, spreadsheets and more. All of these file types are examples of unstructured information.

Without the right cloud-based data classification tools, organizations can't find and secure sensitive data within these files types.

The insider threat

The insider threat takes many forms. Some negligent employees accidentally leak data, and then there are intentional insider threats, who go out of their style to steal data – typically earlier they quit. In fact, 63% of employees admit to taking data with them to a new task. Meanwhile, 62% of employees say they don't follow security protocols at home as closely as they practise when in the office.

Google Workspace compounds these bug. Due to a lack of visibility, it's hard for IT teams to run into how employees are interacting with data: are they downloading things they shouldn't? Who are they sharing data with? Have they prepare the correct permissions on their files?

At that place'southward also the risk of credentials compromise. If hackers get access to your employee's login details, practise you have an say-so process in identify that will stop them from accessing sensitive company data in Google Workspace?

Shadow IT usage

Fifty-fifty if y'all don't use Google Workspace as a company, your employees probably utilise Google Bulldoze, Google Docs or Google sheets for some of their piece of work. In fact, 67% of teams apply their ain collaboration tools outside of official visitor software. This, of class, is an case of shadow IT, which refers to the employ of applications, devices and cloud services that the IT department does not approve of.

We unremarkably encounter Google Workspace shadow IT occur in companies that use Microsoft 365 as their primary productivity suite. Even though you can interact on documents in Microsoft Teams, some users simply prefer the functionality of Google Workspace, which is readily available from any browser.

While employees are probably using Google Workspace with good intentions, the data security risks can't exist ignored. IT departments cannot protect what they don't know. The It squad loses control and visibility every bit data passes through unsanctioned Google docs. This, in turn, has a domino effect on the team's ability to perform disaster recovery, classify data, and implement adequate security protections.

Moreover, using unofficial solutions exposes the organization to violations of industry standards such as HIPAA, PCI, GLBA and GDPR. Something as uncomplicated as transferring files with personally identifiable data tin can exist classified every bit a compliance violation and lead to hefty fines.

How to secure data in Google Workspace

While Google offers some native security controls for Workspace, these tools aren't robust enough for enterprises in highly regulated industries or those who secure sensitive data in the deject.

This is why you need to harness the power of deject-based DLP for Google Workspace.

Using APIs, cloud-enabled DLP extends data protection outside of the corporate network and directly into SaaS applications, giving security teams much needed control and visibility over how data is being used and stored in Google Workspace.

Hither's how they work:

Monitor user behavior and data movement:A adept DLP solution gives you real-time visibility into user beliefs and data movement in the cloud. It lets you see how users behave and uses automation and blueprint recognition to spot and block unusual beliefs in existent-time. From a data perspective, DLP uses pre-defined policies to find, classify and protect unstructured data in your Google Workspace, ensuring that only authorized, verified users can access sensitive data.

Forestall data leakage and compliance violations:Deject-based DLP supports compliance with regulations like HIPAA and GDPR. These solutions apply automation and motorcar learning to discover, classify and enforce information governance in deject applications, ensuring that your employees do not violate compliance rules.

Command information and file-sharing:With granular policies, organizations can finally command information sharing in Google Workspace. You lot tin can decide who can share, view and edit data – and even put device restrictions in place and then that employees can only admission Google Workspace from their piece of work devices.

Build a culture of security:Security aware civilization is the best defence force confronting ransomware, data breaches & insider threats. best-in-breed solutions comprise on-the-get training to improve user security habits. At Polymer, nosotros have 'Nudge': a powerful tool to reduce users from repeating past mistakes. Our tool has been shown to reduce risky data sharing beliefs past over 70% in every bit niggling as a month.

If you are looking for a DLP solution, check out our DLP for SaaS buyers' guide.

dumastruirallith.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.polymerhq.io/blog/the-top-data-security-risks-of-google-workspace/

Share this post