Google Drive’s comprehensive and easy-to-use features make it a popular business option. As one of the world’s most popular cloud storage services, Google Drive has some impressive security features to prevent external access, but is it enough for your business?
Learn more about Google Drive’s security features, the risks to be aware of, and some additional measures you can take to secure it for your business.
Key Takeaways
Google Drive is safe for businesses as long as they use additional security and best practices.
Enhance Google Drive by using a strong password, setting up 2FA, encrypting files before uploading, and setting control user permissions.
Trustworthy is a safe storage alternative for businesses.
Is Google Drive Secure for Business?
While Google Drive's many features are impressive, especially considering it’s a free application, many businesses wonder if it’s secure.
Overall, it comes with industry-standard security measures, like AES 256-bit encryption, the strongest encryption available. The U.S. government even uses it.
In addition, Google Drive uses TLS/SSL encryption protocols when files are in transit, which prevents third parties from hacking into them. So, even if hackers gain access to Google Drive servers, they cannot access the contents of your files.
Google Workspace offers additional security, which differs depending on your business's edition. These security features include single sign-on (SAML 2.0), which allows users to access multiple services using one login credential.
It also employs another layer of protection, data loss prevention (DLP). This tool prevents users from sending sensitive or conditional information by enabling alerts or blocking certain actions. Typically, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers are protected.
Advanced analytics allow the Google Workspace Trust Center to use security research tools to identify, classify, and address security issues. These tools can also create and send out alerts if issues are detected.
Businesses should note that while Google uses encryption to keep their data safe, their privacy policy needs to be reviewed.
Kristen Bolig, the founder at SecurityNerd, explains:
"Because they are in control of these encryption keys, it can lead to vulnerabilities for its users… They have the power to decrypt files, which can make them easier for hackers."
So, while your data is secure, it’s not entirely private on Google Drive. If your business plans to use it to store sensitive information and stay compliant with data privacy regulations, you may want to rethink it.
Instead, save your private and confidential information somewhere secure, like Trustworthy, which uses advanced security features to keep you and your sensitive information private.
How to Enhance Google Drive’s Security for Businesses
Relying on Google Drive’s standard security is insufficient in today’s world of strict data protection regulations and advanced cybercrime. There are some things you can do to enhance Google Drive’s security and protect your business’s files.
Be Careful with Third Party Add-Ons
Third-party applications can be a great way to increase Google Drive security, especially if you use encryption applications with zero-knowledge encryption, so even Google can’t access these keys. Other third-party apps can monitor threats and provide additional cloud security.
However, there are times when using third-party apps can become a privacy risk. To prevent this, consider running regular audits of your third-party applications to ensure there are no security vulnerabilities and only authorized third-party add-ons can access your sensitive data.
Be careful not to download any application with a low rating or few reviews, as these could be especially susceptible to security risks.
Enforce a Strong Password That Regularly Changes
While passwords are known to be easier to hack than other security measures like encryption, you can beef up their strength by choosing a unique combination of numbers, letters, and symbols. Avoid using pet names or other easily accessible personal information. Keep your passwords at a minimum of 8 characters.
In addition to creating a strong password, you should regularly change it at least once a month if you use it for personal and sensitive information. This also means not using the same password for different websites.
Store your passwords in a secure location like Trustworthy, which you can use on your smartphone or computer.
Add 2FA
Google Drive excels at offering users secure sign-in options, especially the two-factor authentication (2FA) feature. This secure login method requires a password and a one-time code to access the Google server.
This helps prevent fraudulent sign-ins regardless of whether you use a strong or weak password. So, even if a hacker has the correct username and password, they cannot access your account without the one-time code.
Set Up Recovery for Your Google Account
Locking down your Google Drive account is necessary if the worst happens and unauthorized people access your sign-in credentials or you suspect they have. But what happens after that?
Setting up your setup recovery for your Google account can help lock down your account and recover it quickly. Some recovery methods include answering security questions, using other email addresses, and logging in via your phone.
Back Up Your Google Account
Back up your Google account to create a reliable copy of your data in case of data loss or corruption from malware attacks or human error. Google Drive offers users helpful backup options like Google Drive Backup and Sync. You should back up important data at least once per month.
Encrypt Files Before Uploading
Encrypting your files before uploading to the Google cloud is good practice. Businesses that use Google Workspace can encrypt files using all the tools. An added benefit of doing this is you’re essentially adding password protection to your files, which Google Drive doesn’t offer.
Control User Permissions
As an administrator, you can monitor and control access to Google services. This means you can restrict who has access to certain files and what kind of access they have. For example, businesses can limit access to users who need to access certain files to carry out their job functions. This is an extra layer of security.
An Alternative Solution for Businesses: Trustworthy
Businesses should consider Trustworthy as their cloud storage service provider as an alternative to Google Drive. Trustworthy has advanced security measures like AES 256-bit encryption and deploys tokenization, which removes sensitive information from the Trustworthy database and replaces it with a corresponding token.
When it comes to security, Trustworthy is certainly best-in-class, thanks to the multi-factor authentication methods, biometric authentication, and physical security keys like Yubikey. Unlike Google Drive, Trustworthy ups its security measures by using on-screen redactions so that prying eyes in public cannot see your information on screen.
Trustworthy also uses a memoryless AI system that does not use user data. AI is only used for reasoning purposes instead of learning, keeping your information secure from social engineering risks.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Google Drive safe for confidential information?
Google Drive safeguards your confidential information. However, it does not keep it completely private from Google itself.
Is Google Drive GDPR Compliant?
Google Drive is not completely GDPR-compliant. You will need to carry out some additional practices to ensure your Google Drive is compliant. This includes setting up user controls and adding 2FA.
Is Google Drive HIPAA compliant?
Google Drive will only be HIPAA compliant if you configure it correctly with Google Workspace and implement additional security measures.
Is Google Drive end-to-end encrypted?
No, Google Drive is not end-to-end encrypted, as Google retains your encryption keys.
Is Google Drive secure for financial information?
It is not recommended to store your financial information with Google Drive as your account is usually connected across different devices, which puts this information at risk of being accessed.
