Set, structure, and search metadata in Drive launching in beta

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event.

Quick Launch Summary 

We’re launching the beta of metadata in Drive. This beta will allow users to add structured metadata to all their files in Drive, making it easier to search and organize based on that information. Admins and end users can use metadata to ensure their content stays organized and accessible, helping them streamline their work.

Admins for Drive Enterprise, G Suite Business, Enterprise, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits can learn more and apply for the beta here.

Here are some ways you can use metadata in Drive:

  • Create common file categories for your domain 
    • Admins can create metadata categories like “contract” or “engineering design” that consist of the properties that are relevant to these categories. End-users can apply them to all files that they can edit.
  • Organize team content 
    • Team Drive managers can create categories for their Team Drives or select which existing categories to enable for their Team Drives.
  • Curate and find files faster 
    • End-users can select the suitable categories for their files and folders. The new advanced search methods allow for searching over categories and properties to enable queries like “all contracts that need to be signed by next week.” 

Helpful links 

To learn more about and apply for the metadata in Drive beta, click here. 
To learn more about metadata in Drive, see here. 
Add metadata to files in Google Drive.

Availability 

  • G Suite editions Available to G Suite Business, G Suite Enterprise, Drive Enterprise, G Suite for Education, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits. 
  • Not available to G Suite Basic. 

On/off by default? 
  • This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled at the domain level.

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Dynamically control G Suite access with context-aware access beta

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event.

What’s changing 

We’re launching a beta program that enables G Suite admins to dynamically control access to G Suite apps based on a user’s identity and the context of their request (device security status, IP address, etc.). Members of the beta will be able to:

  • Set up different access levels based on a user’s identity and context of the request., 
  • Use granular controls for different organizational units (OU) 
  • Control access to several G Suite apps by setting different policies for the different access level profiles that have been set up 

Who’s impacted 

Admins only

Why you’d use it 

Currently G Suite admins can turn access to apps and services on or off for specific OUs or groups of users. This beta will provide more dynamic controls, so you can take into account contextual signals, such as device security status or IP address, to control access to those apps and services. Examples of access controls that can be set up through the context-aware access beta include:

  • Only users from corporate-owned device and a corporate IP address can access Google Drive. 
  • Only a “High Trust” group can access Google Drive when not on a corporate IP address. 
  • Only users from an encrypted device with a screen lock enabled can access Gmail. 

How to get started 


  • Admins: This is an opt-in beta. Admins can opt-in by changing their security settings Admin console> Security> Context-Aware Access
  • End users: No action needed


Additional details 

In the beta, context-aware access will only be configurable for Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, and Keep. You’ll be able to use the following contextual signals to control access:

  • IP Subnet (specific IPv4 or IPv6 address) 
  • Device policies as reported through the Endpoint Verification extension, including whether a device password is active, device encryption status, minimum OS versions, and company-owned devices. 

You can apply policies by OU or to the whole domain, and all admin activity is logged in audit logs in the Admin console > Reports > Admin view.

Availability 

G Suite editions 

  • Available to G Suite Enterprise, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and Cloud Identity Premium 
  • Not available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G Suite for Education, G Suite for Nonprofits, and Cloud Identity Free.


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Use an Android phone as a security key for 2-Step Verification

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event.


What’s changing

We’re adding an option to use your Android phone’s built-in security key for multi-factor authentication in G Suite. All phones running Android 7.0+ (Nougat) have a built-in key which can be activated. This means your users can use existing phones as a primary 2-Step Verification method to protect against phishing. Using a phone as a security key is currently offered in beta.

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it 

2-Step Verification greatly improves the security of your account by adding another layer to your account security and making it more resistant to phishing attacks. By adding the additional option of using your Android phone’s built-in security key, we’re expanding access to phishing-resistant 2-Step Verification method in a convenient form - your phone. This can make it faster for you to implement 2-Step Verification in your organization while keeping user training and overall costs to a minimum. 

Previously, in order to protect your users against password phishing, the only option was to use a security key fob. With this beta, their mobile phone can be that security key.

How to get started 




Additional details 


  • Available to G Suite, Cloud Identity, GCP customers, and personal Google Accounts. 
  • Available on phones running Android 7.0+ (Nougat) with Google Play Services. 
  • Compatible with Bluetooth-enabled Chrome OS, macOS X, or Windows 10 devices with a Chrome browser. 



2-Step Verification on a Pixel 3 

Helpful links 




Availability 

Rollout details



G Suite editions 

  • Available to all G Suite editions in beta. 


On/off by default? 

  • If 2-Step Verification or Security Key Enforcement is turned on for an organization, Android phone will be available as an option for security keys by default.


Stay up to date with G Suite launches

New alert management and collaboration features in the alert center beta

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event.

What’s changing 


We’re launching a beta for the alert center for G Suite which will enhance the existing alert center and make it easier for admins to manage and collaborate on alerts. Specifically, the beta will mean you’ll be able to:

  • Set status, assignee, and severity of alerts: Add key information to help your team take ownership of, assess, and collaborate as you work through security investigations. 
  • Use a more powerful search: Find alerts more easily by searching for alerts that contain a specific email address. 
  • See related alerts: The alert detail view will show other alerts related to the same actor or user to help discover possible related security incidents. \
  • See alert change history: See the history of metadata or content updates to that alert. This includes when status, assignee, or severities have changed. 

Find out more and sign up for the alert center beta here.

Who’s impacted 

Admins only

Why you’d use it 

The alert center already provides a single place to see notifications about potential issues within your domain, and take action to resolve the issues. We hope the enhancements in this beta will improve collaboration between admins and related teams with status, severity, and assignee information now available. We also hope it will make it easier to find patterns within alerts by adding more specific search capabilities and surfacing related alerts proactively.

How to get started 



Helpful links 




Availability 

G Suite editions 
Available to all G Suite editions.

Beta sign up 
Find out more and sign up for the alert center beta here.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Better manage threats and collaborate in new security center beta

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event.

What’s changing 

We’re launching a beta program to make it easier to assess your organization’s exposure to security issues and collaborate with colleagues to remediate them. The beta will add features to the G Suite security center which help you:

  • Save and share investigations in the security investigation tool 
  • Create rules within the security center to perform automated actions 

Find out more and sign up for the new security center beta here.

This beta will also allow you to send notifications to the alert center, where teams of admins and analysts can work together to take ownership of alerts and update status as they work through security investigations. For more information on the latest updates to the alert center, see this announcement.

Who’s impacted 

Admins only


Why you’d use it 

The G Suite security center already helps you protect your organization with security analytics and best practice recommendations from Google. It provides a unified security dashboard, a tool to investigate and remediate threats, and more. These features in the beta will make it easier to assess and manage threats by adding automated actions, improved tracking, and more to help your whole team understand and improve your security posture.


How to get started 

Additional details 

Save and share investigations 
We want to make sure admins are able to work together and collaborate to assess their organization’s exposure to security issues. With this beta launch, admins can now save their investigations in the security investigation tool and share them with other admins to improve collaboration.

Create rules and set up automated actions and alerts 
Admins can also create automated rules to perform remediative actions or send notifications to the alert center, where teams of admins and analysts can work together to take ownership of alerts and update status as they work through security investigations.

Helpful links 

Availability 

G Suite editions 
Available to G Suite Enterprise, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and Cloud Identity Premium.
Not available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G Suite for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits.

On/off by default? 
This will be OFF by default and only available to domains that sign up for the beta.


Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Advanced phishing and malware protection for Gmail beta

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event.

What’s changing 

We’re launching a beta program to provide admins with even more controls for advanced anti-phishing and malware protections via the advanced safety settings in Gmail. These build on the advanced protections we announced in 2018. Admins who are part of the beta will have new controls to:

  • Place emails into a quarantine - Route emails that match phishing and malware controls to a new or existing quarantine. This will be available for new and existing controls. 
  • Protect against anomalous attachment types in emails - Identify emails with unusual attachment types and choose to automatically display a warning banner, send them to spam, or quarantine the messages. 
  • Protect your Google Groups from inbound emails spoofing your domain - Identify unauthenticated emails potentially spoofing your domain and choose to automatically display a warning banner, send them to spam, or quarantine the messages. 


In addition to the new controls, we’ll also update the interface to make it easier to see what settings you have applied and understand what actions you’re taking as a result of each control.

Who’s impacted 

Admins only

Why you’d use it 

By adding more specific controls, including the ability to quarantine potentially risky messages, we hope to enable admins to optimize protections for their organization. This will help reduce threats and increase the security of your data while making the experience as simple as possible for your users. 

How to get started 


  • Admins: Find and turn on the beta features at Admin console > Menu > Apps > G Suite > Gmail > Safety. You’ll find new options to turn on anomalous attachment and groups spoofing protections, and see the quarantine option available for all controls. Use our Help Center to learn more about how to enhance phishing and malware protection. 
  • End users: No action needed 


Additional details 

Place emails into a quarantine 

All the advanced safety settings for Gmail now let you quarantine emails more easily. Choose to move any email that meets certain criteria to a pre-existing quarantine, or create a new quarantine for such messages. Use our Help Center to find out more about email quarantines.



Protect against anomalous attachment types in emails 

Less common file types as email attachments are often used to spread malware. However, different domains might have legitimate uses for uncommon file types. Therefore we’re giving admins more control over how to handle emails with these files attached.

What is identified as an anomalous attachment will be automatically customized for each domain. An intelligent algorithm determines which file types your domain commonly receives and will model the detection based on that. For example, a specific file type may be commonly used on Domain A, but not on Domain B. If both domains had the "Anomalous Attachment" setting enabled, an email with this file type attached would be flagged for Domain B, but not Domain A.

You can see which file types are filtered for your domain by going to the security center’s suspicious attachments chart, filtering by "Anomalous Attachments" and then looking at "Attachment Extensions" (available to G Suite Enterprise and Enterprise for Education domains only).

Admins will be able to:

  • Turn the uncommon attachment type detection on or off. 
  • If turned on, choose whether to keep relevant emails in the user’s inbox with a warning banner displayed, send emails to spam automatically, or move emails to quarantine. 
  • While we expect the anomalous attachment customization described above to work well, if needed admins can whitelist specific uncommon file types they don’t want identified. 

Admin controls for unusual attachment types 


Protect your Groups from inbound emails spoofing your domain

External senders can spoof emails to appear as if they come from your domain, using the same protocols that enable many legitimate systems to send email. This setting extends your options to control potential spoofing emails by preventing spoofed messages from posting to Google Groups on your domain. Use our Help Center to find out more about spoofing. Admins in the beta will be able to:

  • Turn the Groups spoofing protection on or off. 
  • If turned on, choose whether to keep relevant emails in the user’s inbox with a warning banner displayed, send emails to spam automatically, or move emails to quarantine (if available). 
  • Choose whether to apply the settings only to Private Groups (groups with specifically limited membership or intended for organization members only) or All Groups (Private Groups + ones without restricted membership) 

Admin controls for inbound email spoofing protections 

Availability 

Rollout details 



G Suite editions
Controls are available to all G Suite editions. Chart to view affected emails available is part of the security center and so is available to G Suite Enterprise edition only.

On/off by default?
This feature will be OFF by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Increase email security with the security sandbox for Gmail beta

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event.

What’s changing 

Security sandbox for Gmail (beta) detects the presence of previously unknown malware in attachments by virtually "executing" them in a private, secure sandbox environment, and analyzing the side effects on the operating system to determine malicious behavior.

Email attachments are detonated within a sandbox in the exact same way as they would if an actual user had clicked on it. This is done in a matter of minutes prior to the delivery of the email, and provides users with an extra layer of security. Security sandbox has been developed with a focus to provide coverage against malware propagated through malicious embedded scripts and zero day threats. The security sandbox for Gmail beta will provide:

  • Granular admin controls for rules to trigger pre-delivery deep scanning and quarantine behavior for potentially malicious emails 
  • Reporting through the G Suite security center 

Who’s impacted 

Settings impact admins only. If turned on, users may notice a delay of a few minutes in the delivery of affected mail due to scanning time.

Why you’d use it 

Security sandbox provides an additional level of anti-malware protection over and above conventional detection. By virtually opening an attachment in a secure environment that can analyze the effects on the target operating system, it’s better able to detect ransomware, sophisticated malware propagated through embedded scripts (like files containing macros or .js files), and zero-day threats. 

How to get started 

  • Admins: Find and turn on the beta security sandbox feature at Admin console > Menu > Apps > G Suite > Gmail > Advanced settings. Use our Help Center to find more information on how to detect harmful attachments. 
  • End users: No action needed 



Additional details 

Granular admin controls 
If desired, admins will be able to set up custom rules to control which messages are tested in the security sandbox. If custom rules are not applied, all messages with attachments sent to the OU will be checked in the sandbox. Rules can be customized for each organizational unit (OU). Admins can also decide what to do with messages that have malware. Malware detected by Security Sandbox is put in the spam folder by default. You can quarantine malware attachments detected by Security Sandbox instead. Create a content compliance rule using the spam metadata attribute.


Availability 

Rollout details 



G Suite editions 

  • Available to G Suite Enterprise and G Suite Enterprise for Education 
  • Not available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G Suite for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits 


On/off by default? 
This feature will be OFF by default and can be customized at an OU level.


Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Exploring new possibilities in cloud-based education technology

Editor’s note:We’re at Google Cloud Next ‘19 this week in San Francisco. If you’re attending Next ’19, visit the Industry Solutions booth and follow along on Twitter and Facebook for more updates.

The best educators foster a culture of curiosity. They know that students who ask questions are the ones who grow up to become researchers, inventors and life-long learners. At Google Cloud Next ‘19, we’re showcasing how teachers can integrate the right technology to help them engage all students, while encouraging agency and a love of learning.

As of today, 90 million teachers and students are using G Suite for Education worldwide. As the numbers grow, so do we, adapting our solutions to meet the changing needs of learners, educators, researchers and administrators everywhere.

Many of these new features are ones that educators and administrators can use to deliver more personalized learning, in ways that work for each individual student. Here’s a look at the latest G Suite updates that bring cloud-based enhancements to the classroom.

Learning for all

New updates to Hangouts Meet and Slides make learning more accessible for everyone.

  • Closed captions in Google Slides (only on Chrome web browsers) use machine learning to turn on automated closed captioning when you’re presenting. Captions are currently available in the U.S. in English only.

  • Also rolling out today, automatic live captions in Hangouts Meet can be turned on to add captioning to virtual professional development sessions or remote lessons. Powered by Google’s speech recognition technology, this feature provides support and the ability to follow along in Hangouts Meet, especially for those who are hearing impaired or English as a New Language Learners.

  • Starting today, you can insert audio files directly into Slides from Drive, enhancing presentations with short or long clips, and especially useful for flipped learning lessons.

Now you can turn on closed captions in Hangouts Meet

                                    Now you can turn on closed captions in Hangouts Meet.

Fostering better collaboration

We’re also making a few updates to support the collaboration that happens within G Suite.

  • Collaborate on Microsoft Office lets students and educators work together on Microsoft Office files in real-time, directly from G Suite. This means that starting today, you can edit Office files from Google Docs, Slides and Sheets, without having to worry about converting file types. This also allows you to tap into G Suite features, like the Explore, while using Office.

  • Now in beta, Hangouts Chat in Gmail replaces Classic Hangouts in Gmail with an improved chat experience, making it easier for students to collaborate with each other or with their instructors.

  • Available now, Hangouts Meet on Jamboard lets educators deliver lessons remotely to students who are unable to come into school, teach higher education classes and hold meetings directly from Jamboard.

  • Google Voice gives educators and administrators a unique phone number that works from anywhere, on any device, perfect for communication with parents and guardians. Google’s AI is built in to help you transcribe voicemails and block spam calls. Voice takes care of assigning a phone number, porting and billing, making it easy for admins to provision and manage. Google Voice is available now as an add-on subscription.

Boosting productivity

Educators, researchers and IT administrators need access to data to help them make well-informed decisions. The following new updates help institutions use data to work smarter and build a more effective learning and teaching experience.

  • Coming soon, connected Sheets will let you collaborate on up to 10 billion rows of BigQuery data right from within Sheets, without needing SQL. You can use the Sheets interface to view learner data (like grades), analyze progress with formulas and pivot tables and visualize results with charts.

  • Schedule send in Gmail, a feature that’s live today, lets you schedule email to be sent at a more appropriate date or time, which is helpful if you’re working across time zones, or want to avoid interrupting someone’s vacation.

  • Comparison in Docs, which will be available soon, streamlines marking assignments by letting you compare two Google Docs and review the differences as suggested edits in a new Doc.

  • Also coming soon, themes allows you to quickly style multiple Sheets element—like charts and pivot tables. This helps keep style consistent throughout your spreadsheets.

  • With metadata in Drive, you’ll soon be able to edit the metadata, or information that provides information about other data, of files in Drive to better organize and search your educational materials. For example, you can create a saved search to instantly find all files tagged “lesson plan” or aligned to a certain standard.

Connected Sheets expands the capabilities of Sheets to up to 10 billion rows

        Connected Sheets expands the capabilities of Sheets to up to 10 billion rows.

Expanding the reach of educators

G Suite Enterprise for Education provides best-in-class teaching and learning tools for education institutions. Now, with Google Voice and updates to Hangouts Meet, educators, researchers and administrators can reach even more learners. Below are three updates that will be available soon.

  • Public live streaming means you can now live stream over Hangouts Meet to up to 100,000 out-of-domain users, especially useful for distance learning or online course offerings.

  • With Hangouts Meet, we’ve increased the number of participants to up to 250, perfect for large online lectures across time zones.

  • Mobile audio allows you to use your mobile device on audio-only mode during lessons over Hangouts Meet. This makes lessons more accessible, even on poor network connections.

These updates open new possibilities for our 90 million teachers, administrators, and learners using G Suite for Education.

The ultimate account security is now in your pocket

Phishing—when an attacker tries to trick you into turning over your online credentials—is the most common cause of security breaches. Preventing phishing attacks can be a major challenge for personal and business users alike. At Google, we automatically block the overwhelming majority of malicious sign-in attempts (even if an attacker has your username or password), but an additional layer of protection can be helpful.

Two-step verification (or 2SV) makes it even harder for attackers to gain access to your accounts by adding one more step to the sign-in process. While any form of 2SV, like SMS text message codes and push notifications, improves the security of your account, sophisticated attackers can skirt around them by targeting you with a fake sign-in page to steal your credentials.

We consider security keys based on FIDO standards, like our Titan Security Key, to be the strongest, most phishing-resistant method of 2SV on the market today. These physical security keys protect your account from phishers by requiring you to tap your key during suspicious or unrecognized sign-in attempts.

Now, you have one more option—and it’s already in your pocket. Starting today in beta, your phone can be your security key—it’s built into devices running Android 7.0+. This makes it easier and more convenient for you to unlock this powerful protection, without having to carry around additional security keys. Use it to protect your personal Google Account, as well as your Google Cloud Accounts at work. We also recommend it for people in our Advanced Protection Program—like journalists, activists, business leaders and political campaign teams who are most at risk of targeted online attacks.

Using the built-in security key in a Pixel 3 to log into your Google Account.gif

To activate your phone’s built-in security key, all you need is an Android 7.0+ phone and a Bluetooth-enabled Chrome OS, macOS X or Windows 10 computer with a Chrome browser. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Add your Google Account to your Android phone.
  2. Make sure you’re enrolled in 2SV.
  3. On your computer, visit the 2SV settings and click "Add security key".
  4. Choose your Android phone from the list of available devices—and you’re done!

When signing in, make sure Bluetooth is turned on on your phone and the device you are signing in on.

We recommend registering a backup security key to your account and keeping it in a safe place, so you can get into your account if you lose your phone. You can get a security key from a number of vendors, including our own Titan Security Key.

Now on Android, your phone is a security key to protect your accounts from phishing. Christiaan Brand, product manager on the Google Cloud Security team, explains why protecting your identity is top of mind for Android.

Here’s to stronger account security—right in your pocket.

Source: Android


Code Next: finding friends and community in computer science

Meet Akeena Hall and Daniella Billini Rodriguez—best friends and two of the students in Google's Code Next program in Harlem. Code Next is a free computer science education program that meets Black and Latinx high school students in their own communities. Today, Akeena and Daniella joined us to discuss the impact friends and community can have when learning how to code and what it’s really like to be a young woman interested in coding.


What got you interested in computer science and coding? 

Akeena: I didn’t know anything about computer science until I was in sixth grade. I went to the school Daniella was previously going to, Bronx Community Charter School. It was really interesting to me because it was something I wasn’t exposed to before. It was something that stuck to me. I was in Girls Who Code sixth through seventh grade, and then I started getting more involved in technology and robotics.

Daniella: I started when I was in third grade. When Akeena came to my school in sixth grade, I was already involved [in computer science]. I’d like to thank my technology teacher — we started off with Blocky, an hour of code, and then Google CS First. I really liked the way she taught CS. It was fun to create something of my own.

What does support look like to the both of you? How do you support one another?

Akeena: If I don’t know how to do something, but it’s Daniella’s strong suit or Daniella doesn’t know how to do something and it's my strong suit — we help each other. It’s basically a balance of skills and characteristics, learning in diversity. At Code Next we laugh together, but it’s because we’re a community. If we didn't feel safe to have a group chat, we couldn’t do this. It’s all about being able to share the same interests and be comfortable.

Daniella: AND be weird with each other!

Akeena:  We’re very weird, and it’s so cool. I’ve never been exposed to such a weird, intelligent group of people before. I feel like community is a bunch of people who share common ground, common interests, and who support each other in different ways.

Daniella: We have each other. If I don’t get something — I’ll ask one of my peers. And when people need help, they’ll come to me or I’ll go up and do the problem on the board so they can see what I’m actually doing. I think that’s what support looks like.  

How does it feel being young women in computer science?

Daniella: It kind of feels weird, being in a room full of men sometimes. It can be really intimidating, but at the end of the day, I feel so powerful knowing what I do know. If any girl loves computer science I’m like, “heck yeah! Keep doing what you’re doing.”

Akeena: When I was told girls were underrepresented in the technology field, I didn’t feel a certain way because I was always involved in communities that were so inclusive. But then I got to high school, and the first day of school I realized that 71% of our school are males. I started to realize how many girls were in the room. It empowered me to do other things. 

What types of things?

Akeena: I just recently started a club, where we’re bringing the limited amount of girls in our school together and empowering each other by sharing and learning from our own experiences. I was taught to be a facilitator by Girls Inc. and brought it to my school with other friends.

What do you want people to know about you?

Akeena: I want people to know that I take education seriously. I really fought to have the education I have and to just be able to be in the environment I'm in. Not to toot my own horn, but, Toot Toot!

Daniella: I definitely agree. I take my education very seriously and it’s one thing I don't really play around with.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Daniella: I really love the ocean. I’m very much a humanitarian. I really want to be a marine biologist, but I might want to become a computer scientist.

Akeena: Honestly, when people ask me, I don’t even know what to say because I don't think there’s a stop to what I want to and could do. I do want to be a computer scientist, but I was thinking about starting a curriculum for girls who want to get involved in the technology field. I don’t know. I just want to do so many things!



Looking for a coding community of your own? Learn about how to get involved with Code Next and continue following @GoogleStudents on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to connect with other code-happy individuals!