Google Workspace Penetration Testing for Security

Looking for a Google Workspace penetration testing solution? Okay, so when someone says Google Workspace, most people instantly think Gmail.

That’s it.

But if you’ve ever worked in IT or security, you know Workspace is way more than just emails. You’ve got Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet, Calendar, Admin Console, and a whole lot more. It’s basically an entire cloud-based office suite.

And that means… a lot of attack surface.

Now, when clients ask about testing their cloud setup, I often hear, “Do we need to test
Google Workspace too?” or “Isn’t it Google’s responsibility to keep it secure?”

Valid question. But here’s the thing Google handles the infrastructure, yes. But you (or the client) is still responsible for the configuration, user access, data exposure, app connections, and a bunch of other stuff. That’s what we test during a Google Workspace Penetration Test.

Let’s break it down the way we would during a real engagement.

What Google Workspace Pentesting Actually Involves?

So no, we’re not gonna “hack Google” or brute force Gmail servers. That’s not the goal (and it’s definitely illegal). Workspace pentesting is more about misconfigurations and privilege issues within the customer’s own instance.

What I usually do is simulate how a rogue user or attacker might -:

• Gain unauthorized access to internal files.
• Abuse over-permissive sharing.
• Exploit bad 3rd party app integrations.
• Bypass or weaken 2FA or login policies.
• Pivot from a compromised account.

All of this can be done from inside the client’s Workspace environment, or even in some cases as an external threat actor using weak links.

In short, we don’t test Google itself; we test how the company is using it and how secure their implementation is.

Read Similar: Read Office 365 Penetration Testing Guide

Common Issues We Find in Google Workspace Pentesting

So here’s a few things I keep running into during Workspace assessments:

1. Over-shared files and folders
   Like Drive links with “Anyone with the link can view” and sometimes those links are in public spreadsheets. Sensitive docs, HR data, contracts… all out there.
2. Too many super admins
   This is dangerous. One compromised account and it’s game over. Least privilege? What’s that
3. Disabled or weak 2FA policies
   Some companies still let users skip 2FA. That’s just asking for trouble.
4. 3rd party apps with full access
   OAuth-connected apps with risky permissions. Sometimes installed by users themselves.
5. No alerting for suspicious activity
   No alert when a user logs in from a different country or shares a bunch of files? Yeah, seen it.
6. Legacy apps allowed with basic Authorization and Authentication
   This one’s dying slowly, but I still see environments that allow old protocols with no MFA.

These aren’t always “technical vulnerabilities” in the traditional sense. But they’re real risks, and attackers do exploit them.

Google Workspace Penetration Tools

Now here’s the thing, there’s no “Burp Suite for Google Workspace”. A lot of this testing is manual review, policy checks, and user simulation.

But here’s my basic toolkit:

• Google Admin Console to review roles, users, and policies.
• GSuite Toolbox for DNS, SMTP checks etc.
• Recon tools like gdrive_enum, gsuite_enum, etc for checking shared links and exposure.
• Google APIs + Postman for playing with scopes, testing access.
• OAuth access analyzers to check which apps are connected.

Most of the real insights come from digging into user settings, email routing rules, and sharing configurations.

And yeah I always coordinate closely with IT/admin teams. Workspace pentesting isn’t something you do in the shadows. It needs cooperation and a clear scope.

Conclusion From The Field

Google Workspace is pretty secure out of the box. But just like AWS or Azure, it’s only secure if configured properly. And honestly, most teams don’t spend time reviewing those settings unless something goes wrong. So, Google Workspace penetration testing is necessary.

A Workspace pentest helps find those gaps before an attacker does. It’s especially important if the client

• Works remote or hybrid.
• Stores sensitive files on Drive.
• Uses Workspace for client communication or legal docs.
• Is preparing for compliance (ISO, SOC2, etc.)
• Has a large user base with varied access levels.

So, to wrap it up don’t assume Workspace is secure just because it’s “Google”. If the doors are open from your end, the house can still be looted.

That’s why pentesting isn’t just about firewalls and apps anymore. It’s also about cloud services, productivity tools, and how people use them.