To quickly determine if an employee has shared confidential documents externally, you should utilize the security investigation tool in the Google Admin console and specifically review the Drive log events associated with that employee's account. This tool provides a centralized place to audit user activity related to Google Drive, including sharing actions.
Here's why option A is the most direct and efficient first step:
A . Review the employee's Drive log events in the security investigation tool.
The security investigation tool allows administrators to examine various logs related to user activity and potential security incidents. By focusing on the Drive log events for the specific employee in question, you can quickly filter and review actions such as file sharing, permission changes, and external access. This will provide a direct view of whether the employee has indeed shared documents externally and to whom.
Associate Google Workspace Administrator topics guides or documents reference: The official Google Workspace Admin Help documentation on the "Security investigation tool" (or similar titles) explains its capabilities. Specifically, the section on "Investigating Drive log events" details how administrators can use filters to view file sharing activities, including external sharing, by specific users and timeframes. This tool is designed for precisely such scenarios where you need to quickly audit user actions related to data access and sharing.
B . Audit Drive access by using the Admin SDK Reports API.
While the Admin SDK Reports API can provide detailed information about Drive activity, using it requires programming skills and setting up custom scripts or applications. This is not the quickest way to investigate a potential immediate security concern. The security investigation tool offers a user-friendly interface for administrators to perform such investigations without needing to code.
Associate Google Workspace Administrator topics guides or documents reference: The Google Workspace Admin SDK documentation describes the Reports API and its capabilities. While powerful for custom reporting and automation, it's not the fastest method for a quick, ad-hoc security investigation compared to the built-in security investigation tool.
C . Review the employee's user log events within the security investigation tool.
The user log events in the security investigation tool cover a broader range of activities beyond just Google Drive, such as login attempts, password changes, and device management actions. While this might provide some context, it is less focused on file sharing activities compared to the Drive log events. To quickly determine if confidential documents were shared, filtering directly for Drive-related actions is more efficient.
Associate Google Workspace Administrator topics guides or documents reference: The documentation on the security investigation tool outlines the different log sources available, including user logs and Drive logs. For investigating file sharing, the Drive logs provide more specific and relevant information.
D . Create a custom report of the user's external sharing by using the security dashboard.
The security dashboard provides an overview of your organization's security posture and includes pre-built reports and insights. While you can create custom reports, this process might take longer than directly investigating the Drive log events for the specific employee in the security investigation tool. The investigation tool is designed for targeted and immediate analysis of potential security incidents related to user actions.
Associate Google Workspace Administrator topics guides or documents reference: The Google Workspace Admin Help documentation on the "Security dashboard" explains its features, which focus on overall security trends and insights. While it can be useful for identifying patterns, the security investigation tool is more suited for investigating specific user actions and potential data leaks on demand.
Therefore, the most efficient and direct way to quickly determine if the employee has shared confidential documents externally is to review the employee's Drive log events in the security investigation tool.