Posted by Eran Feigenbaum, Director of Security, Google Apps for Work

Many organizations are in the dark about the security of their data, especially with the rise of shadow IT and numerous recent breaches. It’s no wonder IT execs are concerned about how their data is protected and who has access to their confidential information.

Every day I meet CIOs who ask me how Google’s cloud can offer the level of security they need, and many IT execs likely have the same nagging worries. To ease those worries — and since today is Safer Internet Day — I’d like to highlight five ways in which Google’s cloud keeps your information safe:

1. Secure physical infrastructure
There are many layers of security baked into our data center security measures and infrastructure. A very small percentage of Googlers are allowed in our data centers, and even fewer are allowed on the floor where the servers are located. And as they near the core of the data center, they encounter more sophisticated security measures, like biometric scanners and under floor laser beams.

2. Control over the entire technology stack
From the servers and routers we build ourselves, to the submarine fiber that connects our data centers, to the mobile management of our software interface, our team has control and visibility over the entire chain of technologies. This enables us to detect weaknesses faster and respond to threats that may emerge swiftly.

3. Investment in active security research beyond Google
More than 500 security engineers work to protect our systems, while dedicated teams look for malware and vulnerabilities beyond our own infrastructure, in other operating systems and all over the web. For this, we know there is power in numbers, which is why we engage the broader security research community with our Vulnerability Reward Program. In the last year, we paid 1.5 million dollars to security researchers and hackers from every corner of the world to attack our systems and share the vulnerabilities they identified.

4. Locations chosen for speed and reliability
When picking the location of our data centers, we have many priorities that keep speed and reliability top of mind. Among these factors, the location must:
  1. Be distributed geographically for better user experience and greater resiliency
  2. Have reliable, fast Internet connectivity and stable energy sources
  3. Be in politically stable areas with legal systems that maintain laws protecting cloud users from liability for content in the systems
  4. Abide by rule-of-law that protects our right and the rights of users as it relates to human rights and challenging third-party requests
With all of our data centers adhering to these location priorities, we can surpass the capabilities of on-premise data centers by creating an infrastructure built for speed, reliability, and protection of users’ data

5. There's no downtime
Information is distributed across our servers and data centers worldwide, so if a single server or even an entire data center fails, your information will still be accessible. Our team is committed to reliability, and the way we built our data model for applications and networks allows us to “replace the engines as the plane is flying,” so we can complete our maintenance while providing an uptime guarantee with no scheduled downtime.

Our team has gone to great lengths to build one of the most secure cloud infrastructures in the world. While Safer Internet Day may only happen once a year, we take the trust and security of our customers information very seriously year-round (which we like to share in writing, too). Whether it’s creating easy-to-use tools to help organizations manage their information or keeping customer information safe from prying eyes, we’re constantly investing to ensure that Google earns and keeps your trust.