March 1, 2016 - 18:32 AMT
Gmail can now scan images to prevent confidential leaks

Google launched its Data Loss Prevention (DLP) service to help companies avoid sharing or revealing confidential files, and now it's getting even more powers to avoid data losses. With an update, Gmail will be able to scan documents with optical character recognition to make sure attached images don't contain sensitive information like social security numbers or passwords, Engadget reports.

Google's business platform already had the ability to scan documents, but it can now match keywords or certain text strings to an admin-approved blacklist. It's designed to stop someone from sending something by mistake, but it can also potentially identify when an employee is purposely trying to share company secrets.

Currently, optical character recognition is only available to paid Google Apps Unlimited customers.