The dramatic shift of the general workforce to remote working has led to new developments for the WFH world. It’s predicted that by 2028, 73% of all teams will have remote workers. Distributed teams now have the benefits of ever-evolving tools focusing on solving the issues that arise from working from home.
In an attempt to better fit the shift to remote working, Google announced earlier this month that its cloud-based collaboration platform, formerly known as G Suite, would be changing its name to Google Workspaces. Google Workspaces includes familiar apps on paid plans such as Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Meet and aims to bring a better, more secure experience overall.
But how has Google delivered on its promise for better security for distributed teams?
Google Meet and Google Chat just became a lot safer
Google Meet features new classification, audit logging, and detection capabilities to detect users that have been marked as abusive in the past and prevent them from joining future meetings. On top of this, Google Meet now scans display names for inappropriate content and bans them from joining meetings.
Google Chat now allows Admins to keep track of their organization’s communications with audit logs and helpful automation that could alert Admins of phishing or data exfiltration attempts. Chat rooms notorious for spam or harmful messaging are now classified as such to keep users safe and prevent bad actors from joining.
Security insights for your distributed team
With Google Workspace, distributed teams now have better protections for sensitive data with increased visibility for security insights. Audit logs have been introduced for Gmail, and Admins can now see when information is being shared externally from an organization.
Domain forwarding audit logs in Gmail for Admins [Google]
New data protection insights have been added as well to give Admins the ability to create reports that show the types and amounts of sensitive information being stored in an organization’s online workspace. This allows companies to make more informed decisions on how to best protect their sensitive information and data.
New security controls for Admins
Google Workspaces brings new security controls to help with managing data that needs to be protected. Organizations using additional enterprise cloud-based applications in conjunction with Google Workspaces will now find a general availability of context-aware access for SAML apps. These can be used for granular access control policies based on attributes that include: the user, geolocation, device security status, and IP address. This reduces the likelihood of users having access to applications or data that they shouldn’t have.
Privacy update
Finally, the Google Cloud Platform received the ISO/IEC 27701 certification as a data processor. This means compliance with organizations that need to align with the GDPR, and added security all around: simplified audit processes, universal privacy controls, and greater clarity regarding privacy-related roles and responsibilities.
WFH is here to stay, and Google Workspaces is a great sign
Businesses with remote workers already know that keeping a remote team connected can sometimes be a challenge. With the added benefits of always-evolving tools made for WFH, companies are beginning to recognize that working from home is more feasible than once thought.
More remote management topics you may like:
- Managing remote teams: your toolkit for leading a distributed workforce
- Safeguard your WFH strategy for 2021 and beyond with the Minim® Remote Scorecard
- How to maintain security when employees work remotely (top 3 cybersecurity threats)
- On work from home security with Telarus CEO Adam Edwards
- Good news for WFH: Google Workspace delivers on security for distributed teams
- Top alternatives for Cisco Meraki for working remotely
- Announcing Minim Work-Life WiFi for WFH Harmony
