Making Google prompt the primary choice for 2-Step Verification

In July, we began inviting users to try Google prompt as their 2-Step Verification (2SV) method, instead of SMS text messages. Google prompt is an easier and more secure method of authenticating an account, and it respects mobile policies enforced on employee devices.

Sign In- Google Prompt

With that in mind, we’re now making Google prompt the first choice when users turn on 2SV (previously, SMS was the primary choice). Once 2SV is enabled, users will still have the option to set up SMS, the Google Authenticator app, backup codes, or Security Keys as their alternative second step.

My Account

This will only impact users who have not yet set up 2SV. Current 2SV users’ settings will be unaffected. In addition, if a user attempts to set up 2SV but doesn’t have a compatible mobile device, he or she will be prompted to use SMS as their authentication method instead.

Users can set up 2SV from their My Account page.

A few things to note:

  • A data connection is required to use Google prompt.
  • Users with iOS devices will need to install the Google app in order to use Google prompt.
  • G Suite Enterprise domains can choose to enforce Security Keys to meet more advanced security requirements.
Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

Time for a refresh: meet the new Google Calendar for web

Check your schedule. Starting today, a fresh look and new features are coming to Google Calendar on the web to help you manage your time more efficiently and get more done.

We’re taking a lot of what you know and love from Calendar’s mobile application, like the modern color palette and sleek design, and bringing it to the web with a responsive layout that auto-adjusts to your screen size. We’ve also added more features for enterprises to help teams schedule and prepare for meetings.

EventDetails-05 (1)

Over the years, you’ve shared valuable feedback on how we can enhance Calendar to better fit your needs and we’re excited to bring new improvements. Now, it’s even easier to manage your schedule at your desk. In the new Calendar for web, you can:

  • See conference room details when booking a room. G Suite admins can now enter detailed information about their organization’s meeting rooms—so employees know where a conference room is located, how large it is, and whether it has audio/video equipment or is wheelchair accessible. Employees can simply hover over the room name in Calendar when they want to book a space, and a hovercard will pop up with details about the conference location and resources.
    CalendarSRI-blog (2)
  • Add rich formatting and hyperlinks to your Calendar invites. Link to relevant spreadsheets, documents or presentations in your Calendar invite and open them directly from the new “Event Detail” view. This can help you create more detailed agendas and ensure all materials are in one place before your meeting starts.
    MeetingDetails
  • Manage multiple calendars side by side in “Day” view. Now you can view and manage calendars in separate columns. This makes it easier for employees who manage multiple calendars, like administrative assistants, to schedule meetings on behalf of their teams. Click “Day” view and select the calendars you want to compare.
    DayView
  • There are a number of other changes in Calendar, too. Now you can see contact information of meeting participants when you hover over their names in a Calendar invite. There’s also a new way to view and restore deleted items in one place in case you accidentally delete a meeting invite. Additionally, “Day,” “Week,” and “Month” views are now more accessible, featuring better compatibility with screen readers. For more detail on changes, check out this post.Additional information for G Suite admins

    To help you and your users transition to the new Calendar web UI, we’re offering two rollout options to choose from (see the Help Centerfor more information):

    • Automatic—Automatic is the default option. Starting Nov. 14, 2017, for Rapid Release domains and Nov. 28, 2017, for Scheduled Release domains, we will gradually transition your users to the new UI. The transition will take about 8 weeks (including opt-in and opt-out stages). No action is required on your part for the Automatic option.
    • Manual—Alternatively, you can choose to manually control when to move your users to the new UI in the Google Admin console. For example, though we’ve worked with the developers of the most popular Calendar Chrome extensions to prepare for the new UI, you might have users who depend on an extension that hasn’t been updated yet. Or you might like to check out the new UI in your test domain or organizational unit (OU).

    To choose the Manual option, go to Apps > G Suite > Calendar > New Calendar. Here, you can set by organizational unit when you’d like your users to access the new version of the Calendar UI. If you choose the Manual rollout option, please plan to transition all your users to the new UI before Feb. 28, 2018. Any users who are still accessing the old Calendar UI on Feb. 28, 2018, will be transitioned to the new UI, with no ability to opt out.

    We recommend sharing this guide, as well as the resources below, with your users to help them understand the new layout changes.

    For more information on how to add structured data to your rooms and resources, check out the Help Center. Note that this feature will work with both the classic Calendar UI and the new Calendar UI.

     
    Launch Details
    New Calendar web UI, rich formatting for invites, side-by-side “Day” view
    • Automatic rollout option (recommended) to start on Nov. 14, 2017 for Rapid Release and Nov. 28, 2017 for Scheduled Release
    • Manual rollout option available starting today for admins on both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

    Structured room and resource data

    • Rolling out gradually over the coming weeks for admins on both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release to start uploading

    Editions:
    Available to all G Suite editions

    Rollout pace:
    Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility)

    Impact:
    Admins and end users

    Action:
    Admin action suggested/FYI

Reference by Google.com

KRACK WiFi WPA2 security vulnerability threatens all networks

Security researchers have found a devastating flaw in WPA2 WiFi encryption protocol that makes it possible for hackers to intercept your sensitive information. This vulnerability named KRACK (Key Reinstallation Attack) affects Wi-Fi protocol and not a specific product or impentation. An attacker within range of a victim can exploit these weaknesses.

KRACK targets the third step in a four-way authentication “handshake” performed when a WI-FI client attempts to connect to a protected network. This can lead to stealing of information by the attackers including your credit card and confidential data.

To protect against this flaw, major OSes and routers are working round the clock to provide a patch. Apply the patch as soon as possible. Meanwhile, do not share any personal or confidential information on a non secure website and only use secure or HTTPS sites.

Also avoid using free hotspots or use a secure VPN or connection like GajShield Enterprise Cloud, if you must use a Wifi network.

Our research team is working in our labs to gain more information about the latest KRACK attacks and will keep you updated on future course of action. Until then keep a close tab on any latest updates or patches released for your affected products and apply them as soon as possible

 

Reference by gajshield.com

Google Drive reporting will show activity-based metrics in the Admin console

As a G Suite admin, it’s important that you have a clear, reliable understanding of the actions taking place within your domain. Today, we are making changes to reporting in the Admin console to better reflect the Google Drive activity happening in your domain. First, we are shifting the definition of the metrics shown to reflect the change in file activity, such as “Google Documents added,” instead of absolute counts, such as total “Google Documents owned.” This change affects any dashboard or metric in the Admin console that reports on Drive files.

 

Aggregate Reports

We are also adding sharing visibility metrics to Admin console reporting. File sharing reports will now highlight which files have been shared outside of your domain vs. internally.

File Sharing Activity

These metrics were introduced earlier this year, but were only available through the Admin SDK Reports API; they’re now available from within the Admin console. This new presentation of metrics provides the most reliable and recent information available, directly in the Admin console.

Find more information on the changes to individual reports in the Help Center.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

 

Reference by Google.com

 

Turning down the in-app passcode feature in Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides on iOS

In the past, we’ve heard feedback that customers want more security for the files on their iOS devices, which led us to enable an in-app passcode feature specifically for the Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides iOS apps. Over time, however, we’ve come to learn that it’s not just the content within Google Drive that’s valuable to you. Your contacts, calendars, and emails—it’s important that all of this is secure as well.

As a result, we began putting particular emphasis on supporting mobile device management (MDM) on iOS. For example, recent launches give G Suite admins greater visibility and control over enterprise-deployed iOS devices. In fact, with MDM, admins can enforce a passcode on all iOS devices that access corporate data, and they can wipe account data on a device if it’s compromised.

Owing to this increased investment in security on iOS devices, we’re ending support for the in-app passcode feature in Google Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides on iOS devices signed in with G Suite accounts. Support will end on December 4th, 2017, and we’ll remove the feature entirely no earlier than January 8th, 2018.

We highly recommend that administrators use MDM to deploy passcode requirements at the system level on all of their iOS devices by following these instructions. This will provide better security than the in-app passcode feature in two key ways:

  • These passcode policies protect all of the content on your managed devices, including photos, contacts, and other content besides Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides content.
  • These passcode policies give you more control over passcode type, strength, expiration, and failure cases. See this Help Center article for more details.

Beginning on December 4th, 2017, any user signed in with a G Suite account who has this feature will see a message asking them to either acknowledge and turn off the functionality or to ignore the message temporarily. Beginning on January 8th, 2018, all new versions of the Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides iOS apps will no longer contain in-app passcode functionality.

 

Reference by Google.com