Google Workspace Impossible Travel Login
Detects successful Google Workspace sign-ins for the same user from two geographically separated locations within a 90-minute window, where the implied travel speed between the two points exceeds what is physically…
Description
Detects successful Google Workspace sign-ins for the same user from two geographically separated locations within a 90-minute window, where the implied travel speed between the two points exceeds what is physically possible (>=800 km/h, faster than modern commercial airliners) and the geographic separation is at least 500 km. This pattern indicates either VPN/proxy use or an adversary signing in to a compromised account from a different location than the legitimate user.
Detection logic
Its licence does not clear it for publishing here
Sunturai publishes a detection's own text where the licence it arrived under has been reviewed and permits it, and Elastic License 2.0 has not. The query as its source wrote it, its canonical form and the hash that pins this revision are in the workspace record.
Detection requirements
- Platform
- ContainersESXiIaaSIdentity ProviderLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesOffice SuiteSaaSWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 3 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
Known benign triggers
- Users on VPN or proxy egress that geo-resolves through a region distant from the user's physical location. Mobile clients on cellular carrier networks that peer through regional hubs may geo-resolve to a different region than the user's physical location.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| security.googlecloudcommunity.com/community-blog-42/detecting-impossible-travel-with-google-secops-part-1-3892 | Only this detection cites it |
| www.elastic.co/security-labs/google-workspace-attack-surface-part-one | 28 |
| www.elastic.co/security-labs/google-workspace-attack-surface-part-two | 24 |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- aff74d85-5bfa-4ff1-ace2-4e3995a37cfa
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: Google WorkspaceData Source: Google Workspace Audit LogsData Source: Google Workspace User Log EventsDomain: CloudDomain: IdentityDomain: SaaSNoise: MediumPerformance: FastPlatform: Google WorkspaceProfile: RecommendedResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: ES|QLTactic: Credential AccessTactic: Initial AccessThreat: Impossible TravelUse Case: Identity and Access AuditUse Case: Threat Detection
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 3