Google Vault Search and Export Evidence

Location

Description

Preserved search results and export packages from Google Vault for Gmail, Drive, Chat, Groups, and other retained Workspace content sources.

Forensic Value

Vault is the primary evidence-preservation workflow for Google Workspace content. It enables legal hold and targeted export of mailbox and collaboration evidence, preserving datasets that may outlive standard audit-log retention and supporting defensible offline review.

Tools Required

Collection Commands

Create a matter, define the custodians and search scope, preview the result count, then export the preserved Gmail/Drive/Chat content with hashes and case metadata

Collection Constraints

• •Vault content visibility depends on Google edition, configured retention rules, holds, and investigator permissions.
• •Vault exports are point-in-time preservation artifacts; deleted content outside Vault retention is not recoverable through this workflow.

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

References