Note
We’ve renamed Microsoft Cloud App Security. It’s now called Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. In the coming weeks, we’ll update the screenshots and instructions here and in related pages. For more information about the change, see this announcement. To learn more about the recent renaming of Microsoft security services, see the Microsoft Ignite Security blog.
As a cloud file storage and collaboration tool, Google Workspace enables your users to share their documents across your organization and partners in a streamlined and efficient way. Using Google Workspace may expose your sensitive data not only internally, but also to external collaborators, or even worse make it publicly available via a shared link. Such incidents can be caused by malicious actors, or by unaware employees. Google Workspace also provides a large third-party app eco-system to help boost productivity. Using these apps can expose your organization to the risk of malicious apps or use of apps with excessive permissions.
Connecting Google Workspace to Defender for Cloud Apps gives you improved insights into your users’ activities, provides threat detection using machine learning based anomaly detections, information protection detections (such as detecting external information sharing), enables automated remediation controls, and detects threats from enabled third-party apps in your organization.
Main threats
- Compromised accounts and insider threats
- Data leakage
- Insufficient security awareness
- Malicious third-party apps and Google add-ons
- Malware
- Ransomware
- Unmanaged bring your own device (BYOD)
How Defender for Cloud Apps helps to protect your environment
- Detect cloud threats, compromised accounts, and malicious insiders
- Discover, classify, label, and protect regulated and sensitive data stored in the cloud
- Discover and manage OAuth apps that have access to your environment
- Enforce DLP and compliance policies for data stored in the cloud
- Limit exposure of shared data and enforce collaboration policies
- Use the audit trail of activities for forensic investigations
Control Google Workspace with built-in policies and policy templates
You can use the following built-in policy templates to detect and notify you about potential threats:
Type | Name |
---|---|
Built-in anomaly detection policy | Activity from anonymous IP addresses Activity from infrequent country Activity from suspicious IP addresses Impossible travel Activity performed by terminated user (requires AAD as IdP) Malware detection Multiple failed login attempts Ransomware detection Unusual administrative activities Unusual file deletion activities Unusual file share activities Unusual multiple file download activities |
Activity policy template | Logon from a risky IP address Mass download by a single user Potential ransomware activity |
File policy template | Detect a file shared with an unauthorized domain Detect a file shared with personal email addresses Detect files with PII/PCI/PHI |
For more information about creating policies, see Create a policy.
Automate governance controls
In addition to monitoring for potential threats, you can apply and automate the following Google Workspace governance actions to remediate detected threats:
Type | Action |
---|---|
Data governance | – Apply Microsoft Information Protection sensitivity label – Grant read permission to domain – Make a file/folder in Google Drive private – Reduce public access to file/folder – Remove a collaborator from a file – Remove Microsoft Information Protection sensitivity label – Remove external collaborators on file/folder – Remove file editor’s ability to share – Remove public access to file/folder – Require user to reset password to Google – Send DLP violation digest to file owners – Send DLP violation to last file editor – Transfer file ownership – Trash file |
User governance | – Suspend user – Notify user on alert (via Azure AD) – Require user to sign in again (via Azure AD) – Suspend user (via Azure AD) |
OAuth app governance | – Revoke OAuth app permission |
For more information about remediating threats from apps, see Governing connected apps.
Protect Google Workspace in real time
Review our best practices for securing and collaborating with external users and blocking and protecting the download of sensitive data to unmanaged or risky devices.