Google's new arm to provide clients with cybersecurity services

Updated on: 14 March 2022

Vilius Petkauskas
Deputy Editor

The US tech giant announced it is establishing the Google Cybersecurity Action Team amidst growing cybersecurity concerns. The new team will focus on cloud transition safety, threat intelligence, and advisory services.

The newly established team will consist of top experts from within Google to provide support for governments and businesses, the company announced in a statement yesterday.

Google claims that the Cybersecurity Action Team will provide services in four crucial areas: strategic advisory, trust and compliance, security customer and solutions engineering, and threat intelligence and incident response.

According to the statement, the effort will begin within Google Cloud, first with organizations Google has close partnerships with, expanding further later.

Cloud service providers faced criticism on security recently, with researchers disclosing long-term issues with the services. Meanwhile, the recent pandemic pushed many companies to cloud transition, often resulting in cutting corners on security compliance.

Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, claims that the move to establish the Cybersecurity Action Team comes after increasing concerns over software supply chain exploits, extortion, and other cyber attacks.

Ransomware attacks have been particularly notorious recently, with cyber cartels hitting one critical target after another. Software company SolarWinds, the Colonial Pipeline, meat supplier JBS, tech provider Kaseya were all hacked over less than one year.

Pundits talk of a ransomware gold rush, with the number of attacks increasing over 90% in the first half of 2021 alone.

Google claims that the company's new arm will 'deliver full-spectrum security and custom engineering solutions that will help organizations address business and security challenges.' Attempts to curb cybercrime will build on existing services the tech giant offers.

Phil Venables, a Vice President and CISO at Google Cloud and founder of the Cybersecurity Action Team, said that the company aims to address a need for a consistent approach to cybersecurity preparedness.

"Our comprehensive suite of security solutions delivered through our platform and amplified by the Google Cybersecurity Action Team will help protect organizations against adverse cyber events with capabilities that address industry frameworks and standards," Venables said.