Google Workspace backup & ransomware recovery
Google's 30-day trash is not a backup. When files are encrypted, purged or a departing employee walks, an independent backup puts your data back — and we help you choose and deploy the right one.
The risks
What can go wrong
Ransomware in Drive & Shared Drives
Attackers encrypt files at scale then wait out the 30-day trash window. The solution holds clean copies outside Google.
Mistaken deletion & bad shares
A single misclick can propagate deletions across Shared Drives. The solution restores any file or folder to any point in time.
Departing users
When a licence is removed, native access to Gmail, Drive and Calendar is lost. The independent copy persists.
Compliance evidence
GDPR and NIS2 require demonstrable recovery capability. Native tools rarely produce audit-grade evidence.
Coverage
What the solution protects inside Google Workspace
Gmail
Every message, thread, label and attachment — restorable by keyword, sender or date range.
Drive & Shared Drives
Files, folders, permissions, versions — including Google-native formats (Docs, Sheets, Slides).
Calendar
Events, recurring series, invitees and reminders across primary and shared calendars.
Contacts
Personal and shared directories with full metadata.
Sites
Modern Google Sites captured with structure and assets.
Recovery
How recovery works
1. Locate
Cross-user search across Gmail, Drive and Calendar with granular filters.
2. Preview
View versions before you restore. Confirm exactly what returns.
3. Restore
Back to the same account, a different account, or exported. Structure and sharing preserved.
Compliance
Compliance mapping
- GDPR — data subject requests, right-to-erasure, EU data residency
- ISO 27001 — A.12.3 backup control alignment
- NIS2 — tested recovery procedures for essential services
- SOC 2 — availability and processing integrity
FAQ
Frequently asked
Isn't Google's 30-day trash enough?
No — ransomware attacks and malicious insiders typically wait it out. Native retention is a convenience feature, not a backup.
What happens to a user when we offboard them?
The solution retains their data independent of licence status. You can restore or export any time.
Do we back up Google-native file formats?
Yes — Docs, Sheets, Slides in native fidelity, with version history preserved.
Where is data stored?
EU-based infrastructure by default. Encrypted in transit and at rest.
Related reading
Recover a deleted Google shared drive: the 30-day and 25-day clocks
A deleted Google shared drive or its files can come back from the Admin console for 25 days. Who can delete, who can restore, and what the window does not cover.
Litigation hold is not a backup
A litigation hold answers a legal question, not an operational one. How holds work across Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack and Atlassian — and what they leave uncovered.
Double extortion ransomware: what backup cannot fix
Double extortion ransomware steals data before encrypting it. Backup defeats one lever completely and the other not at all — and the difference is legal.
Let's look at where your data stands.
30 minutes, concrete risks, concrete next steps.