Tag Archives: Admin Console

Improving consistency of Gmail data across the Security Investigation Tool and BigQuery

What’s changing 

In August 2022, we announced the movement of the existing Gmail logs in BigQuery to Google Workspace logs and reports in BigQuery, creating a single space to access all of your Google Workspace audit events. 


To further improve this experience, you’ll see all Gmail log events from the Security Investigation Tool (SIT) in your Google Workspace logs and reports in BigQuery. This includes device types and post-delivery actions (for example open, delete, clicked links, and attachment downloads). This change will give admins a more complete picture of Gmail activity happening in their domain, and bring consistency across reporting tools. 


Use the table below to familiarize yourself with the newly added columns — complete details can be found in our Help Center.


List of newly added columns

Description

event_info.mail_event_type

The event type corresponds to the Event attribute in Gmail log events in Security Investigation Tool.

event_info.client_context.client_type

The type of client or device where the action occurred, including: WEB, IOS, ANDROID, IMAP, POP3, and API.

event_info.client_context.session_context.delegate_user_email

Email address of the delegated user who performed the action on the account owner's behalf.

message_info.attachment.file_name

File attachment name.

message_info.post_delivery_info

Information about the post-delivery event.

message_info.post_delivery_info.action_type

Post-delivery action type.


message_info.post_delivery_info.interaction

Information about the user's interaction with message links, Drive items, or attachments.

message_info.post_delivery_info.interaction.link_url

The URL associated with the interaction, which is set only for link click interactions.

message_info.post_delivery_info.interaction.drive_id

The unique ID of the Google Drive item associated with the interaction. This ID is used to access the item in Drive.

message_info.post_delivery_info.interaction.attachment

The target attachments of the interaction, which are set only for attachment interactions.

message_info.post_delivery_info.interaction.attachment.file_extension_type

File extension (not MIME part type), not including the period.

message_info.post_delivery_info.interaction.attachment.malware_family

Malware type, if malware is detected during message handling.

message_info.post_delivery_info.interaction.attachment.file_name

Attachment file name.

message_info.post_delivery_info.interaction.attachment.sha256

SHA256 hash of the attachment.


Getting started


Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, Education Standard 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

 

Enable your users to report inappropriate messages for review

What’s changing

For select Google Workspace customers, admins can enable content reporting for their Google Chat users. Once a user has flagged a message, admins can find more information about the incident in the Security Investigation Tool and decide whether further action is needed. This feature is available for Google Chat on the web and mobile devices.

Admins can turn content reporting on for 1:1 messages, group messages, or messages in spaces, and select which reporting categories are available for their users, such as harassment or rude behavior, sensitive information, and more. Admins can also customize the language in the reporting dialog box to educate users about next steps following the report submission.

When you turn content reporting on, you can select which reporting categories to show to your users and which conversation types content reporting is available for.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users 


Why it’s important

Effective collaboration in the modern workplace requires a sense of psychological safety for users and appropriate protections for sensitive business data. Content reporting in Google Chat enables users the opportunity to report inappropriate messages for review. This can include anything from offensive , discriminatory or explicit content, sensitive data that should not be shared (personal or proprietary), and more. This is critical for our customers, especially those of larger organizations and in regulated industries, to stay on top of potential abuse and inappropriate use of Chat in their organization. 


Further, admins can use the Security Investigation Tool Administrator to decide whether data protection rules need to be created to proactively prevent similar messages from being shared in the future.

In the Security Investigation Tool, you can search for reported messages, view additional conversation information, and see the chat transcript for more context.




Along with recent updates such as managing Google Chat spaces in the admin console, we hope this feature helps admins manage Chat across their organization.


Getting started

Reporting a message on the web

 
Reporting a message on a mobile device


Rollout pace



Availability

  • Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers

Resources






Extending client-side encryption to chat messages in Google Meet

What’s changing 

If you’re using client-side encryption for Meet, in-meeting chat will now be supported. As with the audio and video content of your client-side encrypted meetings, all in-meeting chat messages will be encrypted and inaccessible by any third party, including Google. 

Meet already encrypts all of your data at rest and in transit between our facilities — client-side encryption gives users direct control of their encryption keys and the identity service that they choose to authenticate for those keys. For more information, see our original announcement.


Getting started


Rollout pace

  • Rapid Release domains:  Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on May 24, 2023
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on June 26, 2023

Availability

  • Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers hosting client-side encrypted calls 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, The Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 


Monitor abuse related events in the Alert Center

What’s changing 

Admins will now receive alerts related to abuse related events in their organization. This includes events related to content that has been marked abusive or user access restrictions to apps. 


This update makes it easier for admins to stay on top of abuse within their accounts, and easily take necessary action such as suspending users or restricting access to certain services. 

Admins will be alerted via email of abuse related events and can find more information in the Alert Center



Getting started

  • Admins: 
  • End users: There is no end user action required. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers

Resources

New membership limits for Google Groups

What’s changing

As a security measure, the Google Groups for Business service has limits for message activity, group size, invitations, and membership. Starting today, we’re increasing the limits for the number of direct and indirect group memberships for which a user can have:

  • Direct: 3,000 memberships (increasing from 2,000)
  • Combined direct and indirect: 7,500 memberships (increasing from 5,000)

If you're the owner or manager of a group, it counts as two memberships—one as a group member and one as the owner or manager. A user is an indirect member of a group if they belong to a different group that's nested in the group. Visit the Help Center to learn more.

Increasing these membership limits gives our customers more flexibility to scale and manage their use of Groups, especially those with complex group structures.

Getting started


Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers

Resources


Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – May 12, 2023

New updates 

There are no new updates to share this week. Please see below for a recap of published announcements. 


Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Enhancing spam protection in Google Drive
There will now be a dedicated spam folder within Google Drive to host unwanted files that are shared with you containing spam or abusive content. | Learn more about the spam folder in Google Drive.

Bringing pooled storage and shared drives to Business Starter
We're updating the storage model in Business Starter from per-user storage to pooled storage. Pooled storage provides a more simple and flexible way to manage storage, as all storage is shared across the organization, removing the need to manage it on a per-user basis. | This update impacts Google Workspace Business Starter customers only. | Learn more about pooled storage and shared drives for Business Starter. 


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog post for additional details.


Bringing pooled storage and shared drives to Business Starter

What’s changing 

We're updating the storage model in Business Starter from per-user storage to pooled storage. Pooled storage provides a more simple and flexible way to manage storage, as all storage is shared across the organization, removing the need to manage it on a per-user basis. With pooled storage, admins also have more tools to monitor how storage is used across their organization. In the coming days, new customers signing up for Business Starter will have pooled storage; existing Business Starter customers will transition to pooled storage over the coming months. 


As an added benefit of pooled storage, organizations with Business Starter will soon gain access to shared drives. Users will be able to create shared drives and add members, files, and folders. Please note that certain admin-level and security controls—like the ability to control access to the items in a shared drive—will not be included in shared drives for Business Starter. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why it’s important 

Pooled storage 
Pooled storage is a simple and flexible model for sharing storage across an organization, and it enables admins to more easily manage storage across their organization. 


Shared drives 
Part of empowering our customers to do their best work means reducing the friction around file sharing and collaboration. Shared drives are a key tool for collaboration—users can store, search, and access their team's files instantly. Additionally, they offer benefits such as:
  • Easy discoverability: Less time spent requesting access to files and searching for relevant documents with all of your team’s files in one place.
  • Files are forever: All content stays put — even when collaborators or team members leave, your content won’t.
  • Easy collaboration: Every member of a shared drive can explore and collaborate in the same files. You can also add users outside your team or organization.
  • Accessible anywhere: Regardless of location or device, you can always access the files you need most.
Visit our Help Center to learn more about pooled storage and shared drives for Business Starter.


Getting started

  • Admins: 
  • End users: There is no end user impact or action required at this time.

Rollout pace

  • Beginning May 15, 2023, new Business Starter customers will have pooled storage by default.

  • Pooled storage will start rolling out to existing Business Starter customers on May 22, 2023 and continue over the coming months. 

  • Shared drives will become available after pooled storage rolls out to all existing Business Starter customers.

Availability

  • This update impacts Google Workspace Business Starter customers.

Resources


Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – May 5, 2023

New updates 

There are no new updates to share this week. Please see below for a recap of published announcements. 



Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Providing greater visibility with additional Google Calendar statuses in Google Chat
Chat statuses now include even more information, such as: how much longer someone is in a meeting or focus time, if someone has an upcoming commitment within the next 10 minutes, and if someone has an upcoming out of office event within the next business day. Learn more about additional Google Calendar statuses in Google Chat.


Expanding upon Gmail security with BIMI
Users will now see a checkmark icon for senders who adopted Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) in Gmail. This will help users identify messages from legitimate senders versus impersonators. | Learn more about Gmail security with BIMI.


Manage all spaces in your organization through the Admin console
We've introduced a new section in the Admin console dedicated to managing spaces in Google Chat. Here, admins can see a list of all spaces in their domain, the members of those spaces, and take actions, such as adding members or changing a member role. | Learn more about managing all spaces in your organization through the Admin console.


Quote a previous message in Google Chat
We've introduced a new feature that allows you to quote a previous message when sending a reply in a direct message, group message, or space (if configured with in-line threading). | Learn more about quoting a previous message in Google Chat.

Turn access to Bard on or off for your users
Earlier this year, we announced Bard, an early experiment by Google that lets you collaborate with generative AI. In the coming days, Google Workspace admins will be able to turn access to Bard on for their users, in the Admin console under Apps > Additional Google services > Early Access Apps. | Learn more about turning access to Bard on or off for your users.

Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog post for additional details.


Rapid Release Domains:

Scheduled Release Domains:

Turn access to Bard on or off for your users

What’s changing 

Earlier this year, we announced Bard, an early experiment by Google that lets you collaborate with generative AI. As a creative and helpful collaborator, Bard can supercharge your imagination, boost your productivity, and help you bring your ideas to life. 


In the coming days, Google Workspace admins will be able to turn access to Bard on for their users, in the Admin console under Apps > Additional Google services > Early Access Apps.


Note: At first, Bard will be the only service managed by the Early Access Apps control. Over time, we may be adding other services under this control.

Turning Early Access Apps on or off in the Admin Console




Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why it’s important 

At introduction, Bard was available to users with personal Google Accounts. Beginning today, Workspace admins will have the option to open up access to Bard for their end users through the newly introduced Early Access Apps control. Note that Bard is separate from the AI powered innovations we’re working on for Google Workspace — stay tuned to the Workspace Updates blog for more information about Workspace specific features.


Additional details 

Regional Availability 
The admin control to enable or disable access to Bard will be available for all Google Workspace customers, even if Bard isn’t available in your country yet. That means that even if Early Access Apps are turned on for your organization, users located in countries in which Bard is not available will not be able to access the service.


Getting started


  • Admins: 
    • This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled at domain, OU, or group level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning Early Access Apps on or off for users.
    • Access to core services in Google Workspace by Early Access Apps is off by default. 
    • Note: Services and features managed by the Early Access Apps control are Additional Services and are not covered under your Google Workspace agreement, Data Processing Agreement, or HIPAA Business Associate Addendum. When you turn on the Early Access Apps control, your organization’s end users will gain access to new and experimental features and services — visit our Help Center for more details.

  • End users: If enabled by your admin, visit the Help Center to learn more about using Bard.


Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers
  • Not available for any Google Workspace for Education accounts designated as under 18. Use this article in our Help Center for more information.

Resources


Manage all spaces in Google Chat through the Admin Console

What’s changing 

We’re introducing a new section in the admin console dedicated to managing spaces in Google Chat. Here, admins can see a list of all spaces in their domain, the members of those spaces, and take actions such as adding members or changing a members role. 


View all of the spaces in your organization

See all members, including space managers, for a particular space

Adding members to a space via the Space Management tool


Assigning roles to a member via the Space Management tool



Add new members to a space and specify their role.









Who’s impacted

Admins 


Why it’s important 

Spaces in Google Chat are an essential part of collaboration and community building across organizations of all sizes. As such, it’s important for admins to easily view and manage their spaces to keep them productive and safe. You can look up specific spaces based on it’s ID or name and take actions such as reviewing members of each individual space, adding members or assigning new space managers. 

Further, the space management tool gives admins the information that will allow them to better understand how spaces are used in their organization: 
  • The number of members in the space 
  • Whether conversation history is on or off for the space 
  • Sharing permissions for a space 
  • Active spaces and spaces with no recent activity 

Additional details 

This feature is available for all super admins by default. Delegated admins need to have the “Manage chat and space conversations” role to access space management — visit the Help Center to learn more about administrator roles. 

Getting started 
  • Admins: In the Admin console, navigate to Apps > Google Workspace > Settings for Google Chat > Manage spaces. Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing spaces in the Admin console. 



  • End users: There is no end user action required. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers