Introduction

In this article, you will learn how to automate reminders for new users to enroll in Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) in Google Workspace. As security risks continue to rise, it's essential for organizations to ensure that all accounts are protected with an additional layer of verification. Manually reminding new users to set up 2FA can be time-consuming and often overlooked.

Let’s take an example: A company is undergoing a security upgrade to ensure all accounts are properly protected against unauthorized access. As part of a company-wide initiative to enhance security, all new employees are required to enroll in Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). Relying on manual reminders for each employee can lead to delays or missed enrollments, creating potential security gaps. New employees who are not familiar with the 2FA policy and missed the enforcement period are at risk of being locked out.

With the automated reminder feature in xFanatical Foresight, IT admins can ensure that all new users are automatically prompted to complete their 2FA setup, enhancing authentication security across the organization without manual intervention.
Illustration demonstrating how xFanatical Foresight automatically reminds new users to enroll in Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) in Google Workspace
Illustration demonstrating how xFanatical Foresight automatically reminds new users to enroll in Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) in Google Workspace

Introducing xFanatical Foresight Automation

xFanatical Foresight is a powerful automation platform designed specifically for Google Workspace. It helps administrators efficiently manage and automate reminders for new users to enroll in Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). With this tool, admins can save time and effort while ensuring that all users comply with security policies, providing a seamless and secure onboarding process across the organization.

Automation Setup Instructions

In this section, we guide you through the automation setup in xFanatical Foresight. We have 2 ways to set up automation rules, Set up automation from a template and Set up automation from scratch. After completing the automation rule, verify whether the automation meets your requirements.

Set Up Automation From a Template

Set Up Automation From a Template

Supported plans: xFanatical Foresight Elite plan.


The template is designed with two rules to simplify and streamline the process of reminding new users to enroll in Two-Factor Authentication (2FA):

  • Rule 1: This rule automatically creates a calendar event in the admin’s Google calendar, scheduled 3 days after the new user’s account creation. The event title includes the user’s primary email, and the reminder time is configurable based on the organization’s 2FA enrollment grace period.
  • Rule 2: This rule sends a reminder email to new users who haven’t enrolled in 2FA. Triggered by the calendar event from Rule 1, the email contains 2FA setup instructions and a link to the enrollment page, with customizable subject and content.


Rule 1: Auto create 2FA reminder calendar event

  1. Sign into xFanatical Foresight with your Google Admin account. 
  2. Go to the Templates page.
  3. Search Auto remind new users of 2FA enrollment and click on it.
    In the Templates ,then search for Auto remind new users of 2FA enrollment template in xFanatical Foresight.
  4. In the Templates > Auto remind new users of 2FA enrollment page, click Copy Rule 1.
    In the Templates Auto remind new users of 2FA enrollment page, click the 'Copy rule 1' button to duplicate the automation rule 1 in xFanatical Foresight
  5. For the first time use of the template rule, an dialog Action needed will display requesting necessary permissions required to copy the rule. Click Connect with Google and authorize the permissions.
  6. Upon authorization, a dialog titled Copy of Auto create 2FA reminder calendar event will display.
  7. Click Next. 
  8. In the Edit actions > Convert datetime screen,
    In the Edit actions Convert datetime screen, set number of days before the reminder.
    1. In the Time change steps field, set the number of days you want to remind users after being created.
    2. Click Review.
  9. In the Review screen,
    In the Review page, provide rule name and create rule.
    1. In Rule name, customize the automation rule name.
    2. Click Create.
  10. The rule is created in the Rules page.
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph automates creating 2FA reminder events.
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph to automate creating 2FA reminder events in Google Calendar.

Rule 2: Auto remind new users of 2FA enrollment

  1. In the Templates > Auto remind new users of 2FA enrollment page, click Copy Rule 2.
    In the Templates Auto remind new users of 2FA enrollment page, click the 'Copy rule 2' button to duplicate the automation rule 2 in xFanatical Foresight
  2. Click Next. 
  3. Click the Email action.
  4. In the Edit actions > Email screen,
    Configure email subject and body content for Auto remind new users of 2FA enrollment rule.
    1. In the Subject field, customize the subject line as required.
    2. In the Email body, customize the reminder email template sent to new users.
    3. Click Review.
  5. In the Review screen,
    Create auto remind new users 2FA enrollment rule.
    1. In Rule name, customize the automation rule name.
    2. Click Create.
  6. The rule is created in the Rules page.
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph for automatically reminding new users for 2FA enrollment
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph for automatically reminding new users for 2FA enrollment in Google Workspace.
Set Up Automation From Scratch

Set Up Automation From Scratch

Supported plans: xFanatical Foresight Elite and Professional (Legacy).

Rule 1: Auto create 2FA reminder calendar event

  1. Sign into xFanatical Foresight with your Google Admin account. 
  2. Go to the Rules page, and click new rule button button.
  3. In the Select a trigger screen, select the User created trigger.
    Selecting User created trigger on select a trigger screen
  4. Click Next. No configurations required.
  5. In the Select an action screen, select the Convert datetime action.
    Select convert datetime action for auto create 2FA reminder calendar event rule.
  6. In the Edit actions > Convert datetime screen,
    Configure convert datetime action for auto create 2FA reminder calendar event rule.
    1. In the Source datetime field, select the Current datetime variable from the dropdown.
    2. In the Time change steps field, set the number of days you want to wait before sending the reminder.
    3. In the Variable name field, enter the name for the variable, e.g. “Reminder 2FA datetime”.
    4. Click Add next action.
  7. In the Select an action screen, select the Create calendar event action.
    Select create calendar event action for auto create 2FA reminder calendar event rule.
  8. In the Edit actions > Create calendar event screen,
    Configure create calendar event action for auto create 2FA reminder calendar event rule.
    1. In the Calendar field, select the Primary calendar variable from the dropdown.
    2. In the Event title field, enter the event title according to your requirement, e.g. “2FA reminder for ” with the Primary Email variable from the User created trigger.
    3. In the Start time field, select the Reminder 2FA datetime variable from Convert datetime action.
    4. Click Review.
  9. In the Review screen,
    In the Review page, provide rule name and create rule.
    1. In Rule name, customize the automation rule name.
    2. Click Create.
  10. The rule is created in the Rules page.
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph automates creating 2FA reminder events.
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph to automate creating 2FA reminder events in Google Calendar.

Rule 2: Auto remind new users of 2FA enrollment

Next, configure a second rule to automatically remind newly joined users to enroll in 2FA.

  1. Click the New Rule new rule button button.
  2. In the Select a trigger screen, select Calendar event started trigger.
    Select calendar event started trigger for auto create 2FA reminder calendar event rule
  3. In the Edit trigger > Calendar event started action screen,
    Configure calendar event started trigger for auto create 2FA reminder calendar event rule.
    1. In the Calendars field, select the Primary calendar variable from the dropdown.
    2. In the Event title field, enter the calendar event title keyword. This must be part of the calendar event title in Rule 1: Auto create 2FA reminder calendar event  > Step 8.
    3. Click Next.
  4. In the Select an action screen, select the Get calendar event info action.
    select the Get calendar event info action
  5. In the Edit actions > Get calendar event info action screen,
    Configure get calendar event info action for auto create 2FA reminder calendar event rule.
    1. In the Calendar field, select the Calendar id variable from the Calendar event started trigger.
    2. In the Event field, select the Calendar event id variable from the Calendar event started trigger.
    3. Click Add next action.
  6. In the Select an action screen, select the Extract data from text action.
    select the Extract data from text action.
  7. In the Edit actions > Extract data from text action screen,
    Configure extract data from text action for auto create 2FA reminder calendar event rule.
    1. In the Source text field, select the Event title variable from the Get calendar event info trigger.
    2. In the Data type to extract field, select the EMAIL variable from the dropdown.
    3. In the Variable name field, enter a descriptive name for the variable.
    4. Click Add next action.
  8. In the Select an action screen, select Get user info action.
    In the Select an action screen, select Get user info action
  9. In the Edit actions > Get user info screen,
    Configure get user info action for auto create 2FA reminder calendar event rule
    1. In the Primary email field, select the User email variable from the Extract data from text action.
    2. Click Add next action.
  10. In the Select an action screen, select If action.
    The IF action to execute different actions based on conditions in xFanatical Foresight
  11. In the Edit actions > If screen,
    Configure If action for auto create 2FA reminder calendar event rule
    1. Rename Branch 1 to 2FA not enrolled. 
    2. In the Add condition field, select 2SV enrolled? as the field and select is false as the operator.
    3. Click Add next action.
  12. In the Select an action screen, select the Email action.
    The email action to send an email from your gmail in xFanatical Foresight
  13. In the Edit actions > Email screen,
    Configure email action for auto create 2FA reminder calendar event rule.
    1. In the To field, select the User email variable from the Extract data from text action.
    2. In the Subject field, customize the subject line as per your need.
    3. In the Email body field, personalize the message by including the 2FA enrollment instructions.
  14. Click on the If action.
  15. In the Edit actions > If screen,
    Add fallback branch in If action
    1. Rename Fallback Branch to 2FA enrolled. 
    2. Click Review.
  16. In the Review screen,
    Create auto remind new users 2FA enrollment rule.
    1. In Rule name, enter a rule name.
    2. Click Create.
  17. The automation rule is created.
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph for automatically reminding new users for 2FA enrollment
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph for automatically reminding new users for 2FA enrollment in Google Workspace.
Verify Automation

Verify Automation

To ensure that your rule setup automates as expected, it’s essential to conduct a simple test. The following instructions show how xFanatical Foresight automates the process of reminding new users to enroll in Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) in Google Workspace.
Note: For demonstration purposes, set the Time Change Steps field in the Convert datetime action of Rule 1 to 15 minutes instead of 3 days to see the automation in action sooner.

  1. Sign in to your Google Admin Console.
  2. Create the new user to trigger Rule 1 in xFanatical Foresight. Learn more about creating new users in Google Admin.
  3. Go to the Rules page.
  4. Wait for the notification in the top-right corner indicating that Rule 1 has been executed. In the notification message, click View log.
    notification in the top-right corner indicating that Rule 1
  5. In the Logs > Log details page, the Rule history section explains the automation history and confirms the results of Rule 1.
    A notification for user 2FA reminder calendar event creation.
  6. Go to your Google Calendar, and verify that the calendar event was successfully created as a result of Rule 1.
    Calendar event created by the execution of Rule 1.
  7. Wait until the calendar event’s time.
  8. Once the scheduled calendar event begins, Rule 2 will automatically trigger.
  9. After specified time, users who haven’t yet enrolled in 2FA will receive a reminder email.
    User have not enrolled for 2FA in Google Admin Console.
  10. Wait for the notification in the top-right corner confirming the execution of Rule 2. In the notification message, click View log.
    A notification will be triggered and sent upon the execution of the rule, informing users of the action taken.
  11. In the Logs > Log details page, the Rule history section explains the automation history and confirms the results of Rule 2.
    Logs detailed page for user 2FA reminder calendar event creation.
  12. Sign in to the new user’s Gmail account to confirm that they have received the 2FA enrollment reminder email with necessary details.
    Verification Gmail screen for the successful rule execution.

Notes

  • The calendar reminder events can be created on a secondary Google calendar rather than the primary calendar. When there is a high volume of new users, this can help declutter the primary calendar and keep it focused on important work-related meetings.
  • The reminder day is adjustable based on your organization's 2FA enforcement policy. For example, if your organization has a 14-day 2FA enforcement policy, consider adjusting the reminder time to 7 days before the due date.
  • The Rule 2's trigger's event title must match with part of the Rule 1's event title. Otherwise, Rule 2 cannot find the reminder calendar event and trigger the reminder automation.
  • If the new user has enrolled into the 2FA before the reminder event, xFanatical Foresight will not send the reminder emails to the new user.
  • The workflow provides some degree of flexibility. You can move or delete the reminder calendar event, to handle particular cases when a new user needs 1 more day to enroll the 2FA or you already know a new user has enrolled 2FA before the reminder calendar event.
  • At each time a rule is executed, you will receive a notification in the app telling you how it has happened to your rules and whether rules ran successfully or not.

Conclusion

In conclusion, automating 2FA enrollment reminders in Google Workspace with xFanatical Foresight enhances security and ensures compliance without adding extra administrative burden. By automatically scheduling reminder events and sending customized emails, organizations can efficiently encourage new users to complete their Two-Factor Authentication setup in time and minimize the risks of account lockout. This proactive approach strengthens account security, reduces risks, and streamlines the onboarding process for IT teams.

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