5 Reasons to use IP address enforcement in Google Workspace

Provides five reasons why it makes sense to add IP address enforcement using the Context-Aware Access security feature in Google Workspace. SaaS Gatekeeper from AppStrict enables IP address restriction and fortifies security by conducting device and user context checks.

IP WHITELIST

10/13/20241 min read

IP address enforcement in Google Workspace improves security in several key ways:

Reduced attack surface: By limiting access to specific IP ranges, organizations can significantly reduce their potential attack surface from external threats[3].

Access restriction: It allows administrators to limit access to Google Workspace apps and resources only from specific IP addresses or ranges[2]. This ensures that users can only access sensitive data and applications from trusted networks, such as corporate offices or VPNs.
Prevention of unauthorized access: By restricting access to known IP addresses, it helps prevent unauthorized access attempts from potentially compromised or unsecured networks[2].
Compliance: IP address enforcement helps organizations comply with data protection regulations that require strict access controls for sensitive information[2].
Protection against spoofing: When combined with other security features like DKIM and SPF, IP address restrictions can help prevent email spoofing by ensuring that messages are only accepted from authorized IP ranges[1].

By implementing IP address enforcement, organizations can significantly enhance their security posture in Google Workspace, ensuring that sensitive data and applications are only accessed from authorized locations and networks.

Citations:

[1] https://support.google.com/a/answer/6047998?hl=en

[2] https://support.google.com/a/answer/12642752?hl=en

[3] https://www.cloudally.com/blog/ip-address-restrictions-access-control/

Minimize Attack Surface with SaaS Gatekeeper

AppStrict's SaaS Gatekeeper fully managed service minimizes your SaaS application's attack surface by adding multiple layers of access controls beyond MFA. Its service forces the use of VPN to access SaaS applications, providing its customers with dedicated static IP addresses to whitelist in their SaaS applications. This drastically reduces the attack surface from the billions of IP addresses that can attempt logins to only a handful of AppStrict's IP addresses. In addition, only authorized devices can connect to the VPN after authentication with digital certificates. Additional security controls, like checks on the device's location and the security hygiene of the device, can also be added.