Cloud Next is Google Cloud’s annual conference for enterprise customers and developers, and this year’s virtual edition is kicking off later today at 9 a.m. PT. Google Workspace announcements at Cloud Next ‘21 are primarily centered on security.
Following the beta introduction of Client-side encryption for Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides in June, CSE is now coming to Google Meet. This lets companies control encryption keys so that “customer data is indecipherable to Google,” and fulfill data sovereignty or compliance requirements. Meanwhile, customers can now directly manage their encryption keys in-house with the beta version of Key Access Service Public APIs. A third-party partner (Flowcrypt, Futurex, Thales, or Virtru) was previously required.
All this still allows end users to still use modern web apps, like Meet, while Google previously said it plans to bring Client-side encryption to Gmail and Calendar.
Meanwhile, Google Docs now warns users about opening suspicious/dangerous files. Similar to Gmail protections against malware, phishing, and ransomware, Sheets and Slides is also set to get this capability in the future.
Another Workspace safety announcement at Cloud Next’ 21 includes the beta release of Data Loss Prevention (DLP) in Chat to “enable the power of spontaneous conversation between individuals and teams, while preventing sensitive and confidential information from leaving your organization.” Similarly, Google Drive labels are now generally available to classify files based on sensitivity level.