Elastic Security Detection Rules

Google Workspace Drive Data Transfer or Takeout Export Initiated

Last updated 10 days ago on 2026-05-28
Created 4 years ago on 2022-08-24

About

Detects when Google Workspace administrators initiate bulk movement or export of user Drive data. This includes admin data transfer requests that reassign a user's Drive files to another account, and Customer Takeout export jobs that package organizational data for download or off-platform transfer. Adversaries with administrative access may abuse these mechanisms to stage or exfiltrate sensitive files.
Tags
Domain: CloudData Source: Google WorkspaceTactic: CollectionTactic: ExfiltrationLanguage: kuery
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

Collection (TA0009)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Data Staged (T1074)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Exfiltration (TA0010)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Transfer Data to Cloud Account (T1537)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

False Positive Examples
Administrators may create Drive data transfer requests during employee offboarding to preserve files for a manager or successor account. Customer Takeout exports may be created for legal hold, compliance, migration, or user-requested backups. Verify the initiator, target user, and export scope are expected.
License
Elastic License v2(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Query (Kibana Query Language)
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
filebeat-*logs-google_workspace.admin-*
Related Integrations

google_workspace(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Query
text code block:
data_stream.dataset:"google_workspace.admin" and (
  (event.action:"CREATE_DATA_TRANSFER_REQUEST" and google_workspace.admin.application.name:Drive*) or
  event.action:"CUSTOMER_TAKEOUT_CREATED"
)

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Google Workspace Drive Data Transfer or Takeout Export Initiated in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(external, opens in a new tab or window).