Thales and Google expand partnership for enhanced privacy

Thales' CipherTrust Manager and SafeNet Trusted Access have been integrated with Google Workspace Client-side encryption to create a new privacy and confidentiality offering for Google Workspace users.

Thales is a global high technology leader investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations such as connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum technology.

Providing enhanced key management capabilities and identity protection, users can benefit from improved regulatory compliance and data ownership by allowing them to maintain ownership of keys used to encrypt Google Workspace documents.

With many countries developing strict data security regulations, such as GDPR and Schrems II in Europe, CCPA in NORAM and NDB in APAC, the regulatory landscape is becoming increasingly complex for organisations to navigate. What’s more, with three-quarters (74%) of global organisations planning to keep part of their workforce remote after the pandemic, there is an increasing need for a solution that can work and adapt to the regulatory framework wherever they may operate, says Thales.

Supported by Thales’ CipherTrust Manager and SafeNet Trusted Access, Google Workspace Client-side encryption allows users to encrypt files and folders in Google Drive, including Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides, using keys that are controlled internally by the organisation. By offering both independent key management and identity protection through an external IDP, Thales supports cloud security best practices which call for separating these vital security functions from the data they are designed to protect.

“Data sovereignty is becoming increasingly important, so organisations need a solution that can help them,” says Sebastien Cano, Senior Vice President of Cloud Security and Licensing Solutions at Thales. “With Google Workspace Client-side encryption, customers hold control over their data’s encryption keys and have access to an encryption solution seamlessly."

Through this partnership, Thales provides enterprises with the tools to manage how their keys are used, the conditions they set for access and manage an identity service for Workspace users. Organisations will be able to implement conditional access, enforce the appropriate level of authentication and offer smart single sign-on for users logging onto Google Workspace. The joint solution from Thales gives organisations the power to determine who and how users access Google Workspace, and who can use encryption keys to access a Google Workspace file.