G Suite launches new beta alert center for admins, streamlines Android enterprise setup

Security is more important than ever in this day and age with G Suite pushing Security Key adoption and adding a new security center in recent months. Enterprise admins can now beta test a new alert center, while Google is also improving the registration process for work Android devices.

The new alert center offers a “single, comprehensive view of essential notifications, alerts, and actions across G Suite.” The list view features several columns including an icon at the left to quickly note what category or product the threat is originating from. At launch, three specific alerts are available:

• Google Operations – provides information about G Suite security and privacy issues that Google is investigating that may impact your organization’s G Suite services.
• Gmail phishing and spam – reports spikes in user-reported phishing, including links to samples and the list of recipients that are affected.
• Mobile device management – provides information on devices that are exhibiting suspicious behavior or have been compromised (available on G Suite Business and G Suite Enterprise editions)

Meanwhile, notifications are categorized into security threats, monitoring, and critical system alerts. When used in conjunction with the G Suite security center, admins can get integrated steps on how to resolve issues.

Google today also announced a streamlined way to set up Android devices meant for work. When registered as company-owned devices, admins have full control over what apps are installed, network settings, and security options. However, users must manually “choose to set up their devices as company-owned.”

To aid in this, Google will start displaying a “Set up your work device” prompt if users first log into a device with a G Suite account rather than a personal one. Therefore, unless users “explicitly state that they own the device personally” — through a check box option — it will be auto-assigned to that domain.

This new screen will begin rolling out on September 19th and will be available on devices running Android 6.0 or above that are new or have recently been factory-reset.

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