Ransomware continues to be one of the most dangerous cyber threats in the world. These attacks can cause financial losses, downtime, and even shut down critical services in industries like healthcare, retail, education, and government. According to Google, ransomware-related intrusions made up 21% of all cyber intrusions tracked by Mandiant last year, with the average cost of an incident going beyond $5 million.
To address this, Google has announced a new AI-powered ransomware detection system for Google Drive for desktop. This feature is designed to stop ransomware from spreading by automatically pausing file syncing and giving users a quick way to restore files.
Traditional antivirus tools focus on blocking malicious code before it executes. While useful, this method is not enough to stop ransomware, which has proven to be both persistent and disruptive. Instead of only trying to keep ransomware out, Google is now focusing on limiting its damage once it gets in.
Also see: Best Ransomware Protection Tools
The new Drive protection system uses AI to detect ransomware activity by spotting unusual attempts to encrypt or corrupt multiple files at once. Once detected, syncing is stopped immediately to prevent the corrupted files from spreading to the cloud.
Drive for desktop, available on Windows and macOS, now acts as a line of defense against ransomware. Google has trained its AI model on millions of real ransomware samples and continues to update it with threat intelligence from VirusTotal.
If suspicious activity is detected, users get an alert on both desktop and email. From there, they can restore files to a previous safe version using a simple web interface. This eliminates the need for complex recovery steps or expensive third-party tools.
Administrators in organizations also receive detailed alerts through the Google Admin console. They can monitor activity, review audit logs, and control how detection and restoration are applied to users across the company.
In addition to Drive, Google’s virus detection in Gmail and Chrome also helps prevent ransomware from spreading to more devices. This multi-layered approach can protect industries like healthcare, education, and manufacturing that are often targeted by attackers.
Bob O’Donnell, President and Chief Analyst at TECHnalysis Research, praised the move, saying that Google’s AI-powered detection and recovery feature not only protects Workspace users but can also help individuals and businesses that use other office tools.
With this update, Google is positioning Drive as more than just a cloud storage solution. It is now a proactive security tool that can minimize damage from ransomware, reduce downtime, and save organizations from massive losses.
Read: Google Drive Keyboard shortcuts
This new protection is turned on by default for all Drive for desktop users. It gives both individuals and businesses an extra shield against one of the most damaging cyber threats today.
