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October 7, 2025
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8 min read

The Essential Google Workspace Security Checklist

Protect your business data with these critical security configurations. Many businesses operate on default settings, leaving doors open for data breaches and unauthorized access. This guide will walk you through the essentials.

In this Article

What You'll Learn

  • The single most important security setting you must enable.
  • How to stop criminals from impersonating your company's email.
  • The correct way to manage file sharing to prevent data leaks.
  • How to control which third-party apps can access your data.

1. Enforce 2-Step Verification (2SV)

If you do only one thing from this list, make it this. 2-Step Verification requires a second form of verification in addition to a password. This means that even if a criminal steals a user's password, they can't access the account without their phone or a physical security key.

Critical Insight: Google reports that 2SV blocks 100% of automated bot attacks. Without it, your accounts are vulnerable.

Implementation Steps

  1. Navigate to Security → Authentication → 2-Step Verification.
  2. Don't just "allow" 2SV—enforce it for all users.
  3. Set a grace period (e.g., 1-2 weeks) for your team to enroll.

2. Protect Your Email from Spoofing

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are like your email's digital passport. They are settings in your domain's DNS that prove emails sent from your domain are legitimate, preventing criminals from "spoofing" your email addresses to impersonate you.

Key Insight: Correctly configuring these records is a technical but essential step to protect your brand's reputation and prevent phishing attacks.

Understanding The Records

SPF: Lists authorized sending servers.
DKIM: Adds a digital signature to verify authenticity.
DMARC: Tells servers how to handle failed checks.

3. Control Third-Party App Access

Each time an employee clicks "Sign in with Google" on a new service, they may grant that app ongoing access to emails, contacts, and files. Attackers specifically target poorly secured apps as an easy entry point.

Your Action Plan

  1. Audit current connections: Review Apps → Connected Apps and remove unused or untrusted apps.
  2. Implement allowlisting: Create an approved list of trusted applications and block all others by default.
  3. Schedule quarterly reviews to ensure continued compliance.

4. Lock Down Your File Sharing

One of Google Drive's best features—easy sharing—can also be its biggest risk. A common mistake is allowing users to share files publicly with "Anyone with the link," which can expose sensitive data to the entire internet.

Warning: An accidental public share of a sensitive client document can have devastating consequences for your business reputation and legal compliance.

Your Action Plan

  1. Set the default sharing setting to "Private" or "Only people in your organization."
  2. Train your team to be intentional about who they grant access to, preferring to share with specific people.

Feeling Overwhelmed? Let's Secure It Together.

Stop worrying about security and get back to business. In a focused 90-minute session, we'll implement these critical settings correctly and ensure your data is protected.

Book Your 90-Minute Rescue Session