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Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Backing up business Google Drive
Business Google Drive is backed up by copying My Drive and, above all, shared drives to storage outside the domain, with several dates. In many SMEs, shared drives are the real file server. Forgetting them means backing up email while leaving your folders without a safety net.
Key points
- Drive bin: 30 days, then the administrator has 25 days; after that, Google purges the items.
- Versions restore a document, not a deleted folder tree.
- Vault retains data for compliance; Google states that it is not designed as a backup tool.
- Drive for desktop can propagate local encryption to the cloud: you need a non-synchronised copy older than the attack.
Bin, versions, Vault
- The Drive bin keeps deleted items for 30 days, then Drive deletes them permanently. Google then gives the administrator 25 days, after the bin is emptied, to recover them from the console. After that, they are purged and can no longer be recovered. Fifty-five days at best is short when an error is discovered after the holidays or at the year-end closing of the accounts.
- Versions of a Google file (Docs, Sheets) or of an uploaded file help you go back on a document. They do not rebuild a deleted folder tree.
- Vault can retain Drive files if a rule exists and if your Workspace edition includes it. It is used to search and to preserve evidence within the domain. Its FAQ states that it is not designed to be a backup or archiving tool.
What to include
- All shared drives in use. Their list is in the admin console. “Old projects” drives need sorting: either you genuinely archive them or you back them up; you do not write that they are covered without having looked at them.
- The My Drives of people who store their day-to-day work there instead of using a shared drive. This is common.
- Files in non-Google formats (PDFs, plans, accounting exports). They are often the heaviest and the most irreplaceable.
- Caches, duplicated automatic exports and “to sort” folders identified as such can be excluded.
“Anyone with the link” sharing is not a backup copy. It is publication.
A risk specific to Drive
The Drive for desktop client syncs a local folder with the cloud. Ransomware that encrypts this folder can push the encrypted files to Drive and replace the good ones. Version history limits the damage over a short period. An external copy, older than the attack and not continuously synced, is the way back. CERT-MU specifically recommends keeping an off-site copy, because an attacker destroys the backups they can reach.
Real-time syncing to a second cloud without history reproduces the encryption: it is replication, not backup.
Implementation
Inventory of drives, a tool with read-only delegated administration, at least daily frequency, retention of one to three months, and a test: restore a shared drive folder to another location and open three files, including a Docs file and a PDF. CERT-MU recommends these regular tests, and the ANSSI, France’s national cybersecurity agency, requires them to follow a written restore procedure.
| Step | Check |
|---|---|
| Inventory | List of active shared drives and My Drives, volume |
| Access | Service account or limited delegation, admin under two-factor authentication |
| Settings | Daily frequency, written retention, storage outside Google |
| Test | One folder restored, three files opened, time recorded |
At WeDoBack
WeDoBack’s Google Workspace backup covers Google Drive, in addition to email, calendars and contacts. Copies are encrypted before they are sent, with a key held by the customer, and stored outside the Google domain on servers dedicated to backup, with SMART or INTEGRAL depending on volume. Have the spaces concerned (users’ My Drives, shared drives) specified in the quotation, then check the restore of a folder during the first test.
Frequently asked questions
Can a file deleted from Drive two months ago be recovered?
Generally not. An item stays in the bin for 30 days, then the administrator can still recover it for 25 days after the bin is emptied. Beyond that, Google states that it is purged from its systems. Only an external backup can then bring it back.
Is syncing to another cloud enough?
No, if it is real-time and has no history. It reproduces deletions and encrypted files. That is replication. A backup keeps several dates and lets you go back to before the incident.
Should every employee’s My Drive be backed up?
Those of people who store their day-to-day work there, which is common. Shared drives come first, as they hold team folders. The other My Drives are decided in writing.
Further reading
Sources
Documents consulted in October 2026.
- Recover deleted files and folders for Drive users — Google Workspace Admin Help
- Google Vault FAQ — Google Vault Help
- Guideline on Ransomware Removal — CERT-MU
- Backing up information systems: the fundamentals (ANSSI-BP-100, v1.1, 27 November 2025, in French) — ANSSI (France’s national cybersecurity agency)
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