TL;DR
Ensure visibility. You can’t secure what you can’t see.
Google Drive data protection starts with visibility. To inventory shared files, especially those containing sensitive data, you need a clear, real-time view into who has access to what, where, and why. That includes external shares, public links, and internal sprawl across departments.
The good news? You don’t have to wait for your security vendor (if you even have one) to build you that dashboard. With Sola AI, you can spin up a custom Google Workspace files app, connect your Drive, and instantly get answers. From exposing public shares to alerting on files containing PII, the inventory is yours to control, built exactly how you need it.
The good news? You don’t have to wait for your security vendor (if you even have one) to build you that dashboard. With Sola AI, you can spin up a custom Google Workspace files app, connect your Drive, and instantly get answers. From exposing public shares to alerting on files containing PII, the inventory is yours to control, built exactly how you need it.
Sola apps that could help you
Visit the App GalleryWhy Google Drive is a minefield for sensitive data
Google Drive security suffers from one core issue: oversharing is default, not the exception. Whether it’s the “Anyone with the link” setting, third-party app syncs, or just good old-fashioned carelessness, sensitive documents regularly end up exposed beyond intended audiences.
Companies share thousands of file externally each month, most of which go completely untracked by anyone within the organization. Add in things like spreadsheets with unredacted PII or contracts floating in shared drives, and it becomes a full-blown sensitive data protection mess.
Google Workspace security best practices suggest tightening sharing settings and regularly reviewing access. But let’s be honest here: manual audits don’t scale, as teams don’t have the bandwidth. You need automation and customization that adapts to your actual risks.
Best practices for Google Workspace data inventory
- Automate access reviews: Build or deploy a solution that automatically inventories shared files and flags those shared externally or with “Anyone with the link.”
- Tag sensitive data: Use DLP or custom logic to tag files containing PII, financials, legal documents, etc. Bonus points if you link that tagging to risk-based alerts.
- Enable least privilege sharing: Enforce domain-based sharing and strip public links. If your security tooling can’t help you do that, it’s probably not helping at all.
Implementation: no need to waste on vendors.
Google doesn’t give you a great native way to inventory and classify shared files. Security vendors will try to upsell you on “enterprise-grade” tools bloated with dashboards you’ll never use. Instead, you can use Sola to build your own app to fit your Google Workspace, by asking our AI the questions that interest you most. Define the questions you need answered, plug in your Drive data, and get actual answers (and not another audit trail you’ll never look at again).
Alternatively, you can grab Sola’s Google Workspace Files app, which contains ready made queries, dashboards and alerts, which you can customize at any time.
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