All Google Apps users noticed a series of security updates that were rolled out over the past year: here we’ll summarize key 2013 security improvements and features that were made to the platform.
All hail Google Apps admins! These series of updates take into consideration the workloads of domain administrators, who gained greater visibility and control over how all their users’ accounts operated:
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Suspicious login alerts
Located in the Google Apps Admin Console, this feature sends admins an email alert when unusual login activity is detected in users’ accounts – this helps admins be proactive when action needs to be taken to ensure accounts are kept secure -
Device management
Manage your organizations devices, including smartphones (Android and iOS) directly from the Google Apps Admin Console. Device management for Androids allows you to selectively wipe Google Apps account data from without deleting all the data from the user’s device (with the latest version of the Device Policy). -
Updated account recovery process
Super admins get to specify their own recovery email address and phone number, with a new mobile Amin app to accomplish critical admin tasks (like resetting passwords and suspending users) wherever they are
Additional compliance, when you need it, for industry-specific regulations, including:
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FISMA
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ISO 27001 (for Google Apps and Google Cloud Platform)
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SOC2, SSAE 16 & ISAE 3402
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HIPAA – offering Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) to help customers comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) while using Google Apps
As well as efforts to improve security across the board for everyone using the web:
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Updated SSL certificates
Google recently upgraded all SSL certificates to 2048-bit RSA -
Vulnerability rewards programs
For those that help address security bug reports – Google currently has been leading standards for response time to fix bugs! -
Improved recovery for hacked websites
Google proactively notifies webmasters when software is out of date, with a dedicated portal for hacked sites
Here’s to 2014 and a safer experience with the web from Google Enterprise – to learn more about Google Apps, visit our website.
