Google Launches AI Cyber Defense Initiative

(RTTNews) - Alphabet Inc.'s Google has launched the "AI Cyber Defence Initiative" as part of its bid to use AI's security potential through a proposed policy and technology agenda that will help secure, empower and advance the digital future.

The AI Cyber Defense Initiative will help transform cybersecurity and use AI to reverse the dynamic known as the "Defender's Dilemma."

Cyber threats have become a major pain point for security professionals, governments, businesses and the civil society. The use of Artificial Intelligence or AI, can enable defenders to gain decisive advantage over attackers. However, the same AI can also be used by bad actors to their advantage.

AI allows security professionals and defenders to scale their work in threat detection, malware analysis, vulnerability detection, vulnerability fixing and incident response.

As part of the AI Cyber Defense Initiative, Google is launching a new "AI for Cybersecurity" startup cohort of 17 startups from the UK, US and EU under the Google for Startups Growth Academy's AI for Cybersecurity Program. This will help strengthen the transatlantic cybersecurity ecosystem, and expand Google's $15 million commitment for cybersecurity skilling across Europe.

Google is also committing $2 million to bolster cybersecurity research initiatives and open sourcing Magika, the Google AI-powered file type identification system. Magika is already used to help protect products including Gmail, Drive and Safe Browsing, as well as by Google's VirusTotal team to foster a safer digital environment.

By the end of 2024, Google will have invested more than $5 billion in data centers in Europe to help support secure, reliable access to a range of digital services, including broad generative AI capabilities like its Vertex AI platform.

Google is continuing its investment in an AI-ready infrastructure, releasing g new tools for defenders, and launching new research and AI security training. Google also started the Secure AI Framework as a vehicle to collaborate on best practices for securing AI systems to foster a more secure AI ecosystem.

To help generate breakthroughs in AI-powered security, Google is announcing $2 million in research grants and strategic partnerships that will help strengthen cybersecurity research initiatives using AI.

These will include enhancing code verification, improving understanding of how AI can help with cyber offense and countermeasures for defense, and developing large language models that are more resilient to threats.

The funding is supporting researchers at institutions including The University of Chicago, Carnegie Mellon and Stanford. This builds on Google's ongoing efforts to stimulate the cybersecurity ecosystem, including its $12 million commitment to the New York research system last year.

Google said it is also excited about AI's potential to solve generational security challenges while bringing all close to the safe, secure and trusted digital world that is deserved.