Google Workspace Integration with AuthPoint

Deployment Overview

This document describes how to set up multi-factor authentication (MFA) for Google Workspace with AuthPoint as an identity provider. Google Workspace must already be configured and deployed before you set up MFA with AuthPoint.

Google Workspace can be configured to support MFA in several modes. For this integration, we set up SAML with AuthPoint.

Single-sign on (SSO) is for web based Google applications. In some scenarios, users with super administrator privileges bypass single-sign on (SSO) when they sign in. For more information, see Signing in with SSO.

Google Workspace now supports multiple identity providers with single sign-on. For more information, see Introducing Google Cloud and Google Workspace support for multiple Identity providers with Single Sign-On.

For more information on how to configure SSO with third-party IdPs, see Set up SSO for Your Organization.

Contents

Google Workspace Authentication Data Flow with AuthPoint

AuthPoint communicates with various cloud-based services and service providers with the SAML protocol. This diagram shows the data flow of an MFA transaction for Google Workspace.

The data flow diagram

Before You Begin

Before you begin these procedures, make sure that:

Configure Google Workspace

To start, you must download the metadata file from the Certificate Management page in the AuthPoint management UI. After you have that, you can configure Google Workspace.

To configure Google Workspace:

  1. Log in to WatchGuard Cloud.
  2. From the navigation menu, select Configure > AuthPoint. If you have a Service Provider account, you must select an account from Account Manager.
  3. Select Resources.

Screenshot of the Resources page

  1. Click Certificate.

  1. Next to AuthPoint certificate that you want to associate with your resource, click and select Download Metadata and Download Certificate. We recommend that you choose the certificate with the latest expiration date. If you do not have a certificate, or if all of your certificates have expired, click Add Certificate and use the newly created certificate.

    The AuthPoint metadata provides your resource, in this case Google Workspace, with information necessary to identify AuthPoint as a trusted identity provider.

Configure a Single IdP

In this status, all users sign in through a single IdP.

To configure a single IdP:

  1. Log in to the Google Admin Console for your account as an administrator.
  2. Select Directory > Users.
  3. Click your user and note your the organizational unit for your user. In this guide, the test user is in the organizational unit Sub 1.

Screenshot of Google Workspace, checking user's OU

  1. Select Security > Authentication > SSO with third party IdP.
  2. Click Third-party SSO profile for your organization.
  3. Select the Set up SSO with third-party identity provider check box.
  4. Open the AuthPoint metadata file you downloaded and find the SingleSignOnService Location and SingleLogoutService Location values.
  5. In the Sign-in page URL text box, type or paste the SingleSignOnService Location value from the AuthPoint metadata file.
  6. In the Sign-out page URL text box, type or paste the SingleLogoutService Location value from the AuthPoint metadata file.
  7. Click Upload Certificate and browse to select the AuthPoint certificate file you downloaded.
  8. Select the Use a domain specific issuer check box.
  9. Leave the default values for the other settings.
  10. Click Save.

Screenshot of Google workspace, set up sso for your organization

  1. Select Security > Authentication > SSO with third party IdP.
  2. In the Manage SSO profile assignments section, click Manage.
  3. On the left, under Organizational Units, select the test user organizational unit. In this example, we select Sub 1.
  4. Select Organization's third-party SSO profile.
  5. Click Save.

Screenshot of Google Worksapce, assign organization's SSO profile

Configure Multiple Identity Providers

In this set up, different users can sign in with different identity providers.

To configure multiple IdPs:

  1. Log in to the Google Admin Console of your account as an administrator.
  2. Select Directory > Users.

Screenshot of Google Workspace, checking user's OU

  1. Click your user and note the organizational unit they belong to. In this guide, the test user belongs to the organizational unit Sub 1.
  2. Select Security > Authentication > SSO with third party IdP.
  3. In the Third-party SSO Profile for Your Organization section, verify that SSO profile for your organization is OFF.

Screenshot of Google Workspace, verify organization's SSO profile status

  1. In the Third-party SSO profiles section, click Add SAML Profile.

Screenshot of Google Workspace, third-party SSO profiles

  1. In the SSO profile name text box, type a name. In this example, we type AuthPoint.
  2. Open the AuthPoint metadata file you downloaded and find the entityID, SingleSignOnService Location and SingleLogoutService Location values.
  3. In the IDP entity ID text box, type or paste the entityID value from the AuthPoint metadata file.
  4. In the Sign-in page URL text box, type or paste the SingleSignOnService Location value from the AuthPoint metadata file.
  5. In the Sign-out page URL text box, type or paste the SingleLogoutService Location value from the AuthPoint metadata file.
  6. Click Upload Certificate and browse to select the AuthPoint certificate file you downloaded.

Screenshot of Google Workspace, add SAML sso profile

  1. Leave the default values for all other settings.
  2. Click Save.
  3. In the SP details section, copy the Entity ID and ACS URL values.

Screenshot of Google Workspace, SAML SSO profile settings

  1. Select Security > Authentication > SSO with third party IdP.
  2. In the Manage SSO profile assignments section, click Manage.
  3. On the left, under Organizational Units, select the organizational unit the test user belongs to. In this example, we select Sub 1.
  4. Select Another SSO profile.
  5. From the Select SSO profile drop-down list, select AuthPoint-SAML you created.
  6. Select Have Google prompt for their username, then redirect them to this profile's IDP sign-in page.
  7. Click Save.

Screenshot of Google workspace, assign another SSO profile

Configure AuthPoint

Before AuthPoint can receive authentication requests from Google Workspace, you must add a SAML resource in AuthPoint. You must also create a Zero Trust authentication policy for the Google Workspace resource to determine which users can authenticate and log in to Google Workspace and which authentication methods they can use (Push, QR code, and OTP).

Add a SAML Resource in AuthPoint

Configure a Single IdP

From the AuthPoint management UI:

  1. From the navigation menu, select Resources. Click Add Resource.
    The Add Resource page opens.

  1. From the Type drop-down list, select SAML.
    Additional fields appear.

  1. In the Name text box, type a name for this resource.
  2. From the Application Type drop-down list, select Others.
  3. (Optional) In the Relay State text box, type the URL of the Google application you want to access. In our example, we type https://mail.google.com/.
    If you want to initiate SSO login from the IDP, you must enter the value of Relay State. The value you enter will vary depending on the Google application you want to access.
  4. In the Service Provider Entity ID text box, type google.com/a/<your domain>.
  5. In the Assertion Consumer Service text box, type https://www.google.com/a/<your domain>/acs.
  6. From the User ID Sent on Redirection to Service Provider drop-down list, select Email.
  7. From the Signature Method drop-down list, select SHA-256.
  8. From the AuthPoint Certificate drop-down list, select the certificate to associate with your resource. This must be the same certificate that you downloaded the metadata for in the previous section.
  9. Click Save.

Configure Multiple IdPs

From the AuthPoint management UI:

  1. From the navigation menu, select Resources. Click Add Resource.
    The Add Resource page opens.

  1. From the Type drop-down list, select SAML.
    Additional fields appear.

  1. In the Name text box, type a name for this resource.
  2. From the Application Type drop-down list, select Others.
  3. (Optional) In the Relay State text box, type the URL of the Google application you want to access. In our example, we type https://mail.google.com/.
    If you want to initiate SSO login from the IDP, you must enter the value of Relay State,. The value you enter will vary depending on the Google application you want to access.
  4. In the Service Provider Entity ID text box, type or paste the Entity ID value get from Google workspace in the previous section.
  5. In the Assertion Consumer Service text box, type or paste the ACS URL value get from Google workspace in the previous section.
  6. From the User ID Sent on Redirection to Service Provider drop-down list, select Email.
  7. From the Signature Method drop-down list, select SHA-256.
  8. From the AuthPoint Certificate drop-down list, select the certificate to associate with your resource. This must be the same certificate that you downloaded the metadata for in the previous section.
  9. Click Save.

Add a Group in AuthPoint

You must have at least one user group in AuthPoint to configure MFA. If you already have a group, you do not have to add another group.

To add a WatchGuard Cloud-hosted group to the WatchGuard Cloud Directory:

  1. Go to Configure > Directories and Domain Services.
  2. Click the WatchGuard Cloud Directory domain name. If you have not yet added the WatchGuard Cloud Directory, click Add Authentication Domain and select the WatchGuard Cloud Directory.
    The New Group page appears.

Screenshot that shows the Directories and Domain Services page.

  1. In the Groups tab, click Add Group.
  2. In the Group Name text box, type a descriptive name for the group.
  3. (Optional) In the Description text box, type a description of the group.

Screen shot of the Add Group page.

  1. Click Save.
    Your group is added to the WatchGuard Cloud Directory and to AuthPoint.

Add a Zero Trust Authentication Policy

Zero Trust policies specify which resources users can authenticate to and which authentication methods they can use (Push, QR code, and OTP).

You must have at least one Zero Trust authentication policy that includes the Google Workspace resource. If you already have Zero Trust authentication policies, you do not have to create a new authentication policy. You can add this resource to your existing authentication policies.

Users that do not have an authentication policy for a specific resource cannot authenticate to log in to that resource.

To configure a Zero Trust authentication policy:

  1. Go to Configure > Zero Trust. If you have a Service Provider account, you must select an account from Account Manager.
  2. Click Add Policy.
  3. Type a name for this policy.
  4. In the Target section, from the Content drop-down list, select which groups this policy applies to. You can make multiple selections to add multiple groups.
  5. In the Resources section, select the AuthPoint resources this policy applies to.
  6. In the Conditions section, select the conditions that apply to this policy. When you add a condition to an authentication policy, the policy applies only to user authentications that match the policy and the policy conditions. For example, if you add a Network Location to a policy, the policy only applies to user authentications that come from that Network Location. Users who only have a policy that includes a Network Location do not get access to the resource when they authenticate outside of that Network Location (because they do not have a policy that applies, not because authentication is denied). For more information, go to About Zero Trust Conditions.
    1. (Optional) To create a new condition, click Add New Condition. After you create a new condition, you must still add the condition to the policy.
    2. From the Type drop-down list, select the type of condition to add to the policy.
    3. From the Name drop-down list, select which condition of the chosen type to add to the policy.
    4. To add more conditions, repeat Step 6.

      If you add conditions to a policy, we recommend that you create a second policy for the same groups and resources without the conditions. Assign a higher priority to the policy with the policy objects. For more information about priority, go to About Zero Trust Policy Precedence.

  7. In the Action section, select an option to specify whether to allow or deny authentications for the resources in this policy. In our example, we want to allow authentications.
    • Allow — Allow user groups in this policy access to the resources associated with this policy.
    • Deny — Deny authentications when users in the groups associated with this policy try to authenticate to the resources associated with this policy.
  8. If you allow access with this policy, select the check box for each authentication option users can select when they authenticate to resources in this policy with MFA.

    For SAML resources, if you select more than one authentication option, users must select one of the available options when they authenticate. For example, if you select OTP and Push, users can choose to type their OTP or approve a push to authenticate. You cannot require that they do both.

  9. Click Save.
    Your policy is created and added to the end of the policy list.
  10. Review the order of your policies and adjust as necessary. For more information about priority, go to About Zero Trust Policy Precedence.

Add Users to AuthPoint

Before you assign users to a group, you must add the users to AuthPoint. There are two ways to add AuthPoint user accounts:

  • Sync users from an external user database
  • Add WatchGuard Cloud-hosted AuthPoint users

Each user must be a member of a group. You must add at least one group before you can add users to AuthPoint.

To import users from Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, or an LDAP database, you must add an external identity in the AuthPoint management UI. External identities connect to user databases to get user account information and validate passwords.

  • To sync users from Active Directory or an LDAP database, you must add an LDAP external identity
  • To sync users from Microsoft Entra ID, you must add a Microsoft Entra ID external identity

When you sync users from an external user database, you can sync any number of users and they are all added to AuthPoint at one time. Users synced from an external user database use the password defined for their user account as their AuthPoint password.

To learn how to sync users, go to Sync Users from Active Directory or LDAP and Sync Users from Azure Active Directory.

You create WatchGuard Cloud-hosted users and groups from the WatchGuard Cloud Directory in WatchGuard Cloud. Directories and Domain Services is where you add shared authentication domains for WatchGuard Cloud devices and services, such as AuthPoint.

Users that you add to the WatchGuard Cloud Directory are automatically added to AuthPoint as well.

You add local AuthPoint users form Directories and Domain Services. You manage the users in AuthPoint on the Users page.

When you add WatchGuard Cloud-hosted AuthPoint users, you choose whether the user is an MFA user or a non-MFA user.

  • MFA users are user accounts that will use AuthPoint multi-factor authentication to authenticate. This is not related to the AuthPoint Multi-Factor Authentication license type.
  • Non-MFA users are users that will only ever authenticate with a password, such as a service account user. Non-MFA users do not consume an AuthPoint user license and cannot authenticate to resources that require MFA. They can only authenticate to protected resources if the non-MFA user account has a password only authentication policy for that resource.

After you add a user, you can edit the user account if you need to change their account type. When you change a user account from MFA to non-MFA, AuthPoint deletes the tokens and password vault (if applicable) that belong to the user. This action cannot be undone.

Unlike users synced from an external user database, WatchGuard Cloud-hosted AuthPoint users define and manage their own AuthPoint password. When you add a WatchGuard Cloud-hosted user account, the user receives an email that prompts them to set their password.

To learn how to add WatchGuard Cloud-hosted AuthPoint user accounts to the WatchGuard Cloud Directory, go to Add Local Users to an Authentication Domain.

Test the Integration

To test AuthPoint MFA with Google Workspace, you can authenticate with a mobile token on your mobile device. You can choose any method (one-time password, QR code, or push).

In this example, we show the push authentication method (users receive a push notification in the mobile app that they must approve to authenticate).

To test the integration:

  1. In a web browser, go to accounts.google.com.

    Single-sign on (SSO) is for web based Google applications. If you go to the admin console with a super admin account, you bypass SSO. For more information, see Signing in with SSO.

  2. In the Email or phone text box, type your user email address.
  3. Click Next.
    Google redirects you to the AuthPoint log in page.
  4. Type your email address or AuthPoint user name. Click Next.
    Your AuthPoint user email address must be the same as your Gmail address.
  5. If required, in the Password text box, type your password.
  6. For the authentication method, select Send Push.
  7. Approve the authentication request that is sent to your mobile device.
    You are logged in to your Google Workspace account.