Beyond the Inbox: Unifying Cloud Workspace Security

Today, work revolves around the cloud platform

In today’s organizations, work revolves around platforms like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. Consider this: would you rather lose your laptop or your cloud account? For most, it's an easy choice – the laptop can go. Our cloud workspace accounts have become more valuable than the devices we use. Why? Because a single cloud workspace account contains valuable communications, sensitive data, and a way to access other applications.

If identity is the new perimeter, the cloud workspace is the new endpoint.

Prior to the shift to SaaS applications and ubiquitous access to cloud storage, an employee’s computer was a single point-of-failure that could expose communications, sensitive data, access to applications and other internal systems, and more. As applications moved to the cloud and browser; IT/security teams needed to contend with both managed and un-managed devices and the cloud workspace became a highly targeted and valuable point of entry to gain broad access to data and applications.

Yet many security programs still focus only on perimeter defenses and point solutions for things such as email, data and identity protection.

“Defenders think in lists. Attackers think in graphs. As long as this is true, attackers win.” - John Lambert
CVP, Security Fellow, Microsoft

Point solutions offer the illusion of robustness. They can block phishing emails or prevent unauthorized file access, yet they rarely provide the full context of how threats move from one part of your infrastructure to another. Today, attackers don’t limit themselves to a single vector—they capitalize on the disjointed nature of traditional defenses, using stolen credentials, exploiting trusted integrations, and moving undetected across your cloud ecosystem. Without an integrated view, security teams are left chasing alerts and reactively patching holes.

Rethinking cloud workspace security

Cloud productivity suites have evolved into critical infrastructure—they are not just a collection of isolated applications, but interconnected ecosystems for email, chat, document sharing, and identity management. When a security breach occurs in one area, its impact can ripple throughout the entire workspace. A phishing email might compromise credentials, which then unlock access to sensitive files & confidential communications. While an email filter might catch the phishing attempt, it won’t provide insight into subsequent account activity or data exfiltration.

Modern attackers know how to exploit these gaps.  The MITRE ATT&CK framework for cloud office platforms catalogues a variety of tactics—from the initial compromise through credential theft to lateral movement within the cloud environment. This complexity demands more than the limited scope of point solutions. Instead, organizations need a solution that embraces the entire surface area of the cloud workspace, ensuring that no threat goes unnoticed.

A unified approach with Material Security

Material offers a modern, comprehensive strategy that unifies cloud workspace protection across email, files, and user accounts. 
The platform leverages the rich APIs and audit logs available in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 to create a cohesive security solution that connects the dots between what traditional point solutions often miss.

How does a unified platform work?

• Email Security: Stops phishing, malware, and BEC by assessing threats in real time and blocking them before they cause harm.
• Data Protection: Scans mailboxes and shared files for sensitive data or misconfigurations, securing or alerting automatically.
• Identity Monitoring: Detects unusual behavior 
and OAuth abuse to prevent account takeovers & broader data exposure.

Material takes it further

By integrating email security, data protection and identity monitoring capabilities into one platform, Material eliminates the need for multiple disparate tools. When a threat is detected, the platform correlates signals across the entire environment and provides a complete picture that empowers security teams to act swiftly and confidently.

Benefits for resource-constrained teams

For security practitioners in smaller or resource-constrained teams, a unified cloud workspace security platform can be a force multiplier. Deployment and management are simplified – you integrate one platform with Google or Microsoft (via API/OAuth) and it begins protecting multiple areas immediately. There’s no hardware to deploy or complex setup.

The low overhead of a well-designed platform enables security teams to spend less time managing tools and chasing false positives, and more time focusing on real threats. Automated threat response also removes tedious manual steps.

Security that stays out of the way

Equally important, Material’s API-based approach maintains a seamless and transparent experience for end users. Employees stay protected without constant disruptions or agents slowing down their endpoints. For example, if a malicious email attachment is detected, the system can automatically neutralize or remove it and inform the user – preventing harm without adding extra steps for the employee. Likewise, if someone accidentally shares a sensitive document publicly, Material can auto-revoke the share settings and notify them, rather than relying on a user or admin to catch it and respond. In this way, strong security is delivered behind the scenes, making the secure path the easiest path for everyone.

“When we first got Material, we were a much smaller team and company: I needed a tool that would be very good right out of the box, that allowed me to set it and forget it – but still allowed a lot of customization when needed. Material was that tool.” - Frank Wang, Lead Security Engineer, Headway

“With Material, we have a mightier team because automation takes away the toil. The security team doesn’t need to check every email and do all the data mapping across multiple tools. It’s so much easier.” - Lisa Hall, CISO​, SafeBase

An essential building block for cloud security

Outdated, fragmented defenses can no longer keep pace with evolving threats. To secure today’s cloud-centric work environments, organizations must move beyond isolated point solutions. A comprehensive, unified platform provides full visibility into your cloud ecosystem—linking email, files, and identities into a single, robust solution.

By adopting Material Security’s integrated approach, you not only close the gaps left by traditional defenses but also empower your security team to focus on what truly matters: proactive threat detection and rapid incident response. For organizations with limited resources, this means a more agile, efficient defense that scales with your business needs.

“I think it’s important to look at the cloud office at a wider holistic level and not just at the point of entry. Understanding its whole life cycle and even what’s being done with it when resting is critical to protecting that platform. Material does that very well.” - Dan Ayala, Chief Security & Trust Officer, Dotmatics

Ready to see Material in action? Talk to sales or take an interactive demo.