Access Transparency is a security feature offered by Google Cloud that allows organizations to monitor and approve access to their data by Google personnel. It provides near real-time logs and requires valid business justification for any access, enhancing transparency and trust in cloud services.

Key Features

• Access Approval: Explicitly approve access to your data or configurations on Google Cloud.
• Access Justifications: View the reason for each access, including references to specific support tickets.
• Resource and Method Identification: Identify the exact resources accessed by administrators and the methods run.
• Cloud Logging Integration: Integrate seamlessly into your existing Cloud Logging configuration.
• Accessor Location: View the country in which the administrator performing the action was based.
• Data Protection Controls: Take advantage of Google’s data-protection controls designed to limit support and engineering’s ability to access your data unless necessary.
• Near Real-Time Publication: Retrieve logs in near real time.

Benefits

• Enhanced Transparency: Provides visibility into cloud provider access, similar to on-premises conditions.
• Audit Capabilities: Enables end-to-end auditing from support ticket to access approval.
• Confidence in Cloud Migration: Removes barriers to cloud adoption by ensuring auditable access controls.
• Integration with Existing Workflows: Seamlessly integrates into existing analysis pipelines.