Latest news with #Adkins
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
India leads many nations in tackling cyber threats, says top Google executive
Google Security's Heather Adkins highlights India's proactive approach to cybersecurity, surpassing many nations in building cyber resilience through government partnership and a skilled workforce. Google Security is establishing an engineering center in India to leverage local talent and enhance cyber safety measures. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads India is emerging as a global front-runner in cybersecurity, outpacing many countries in its proactive efforts to address digital threats, according to Heather Adkins, global VP of engineering for Google on the sidelines of the Safer with Google India Summit, Adkins stressed that India's government has taken a lead in building cyber resilience . 'They've done a very good job in getting involved quickly and partnering with companies. The workforce here and education levels in India are pretty high. There are parts of the world I go where they're just now starting to think about cyber security and they're much further behind India,' she who has spent over 20 years at Google, pointed to India's readiness to tackle evolving cyber threats even as geopolitical tensions risk escalating state-sponsored attacks globally. 'It's a hot topic,' she said, referring to the Indian government's engagement on cyber safety To strengthen its role in this ecosystem, Google Security is setting up an engineering centre in India, leveraging the country's skilled talent pool to enhance cyber safety underlined the dual nature of generative AI (Gen AI) in cybersecurity. While it enables cybercriminals to increase the speed and complexity of attacks, it also arms defenders with tools to outpace adversaries.'There's no doubt that we're seeing an increase in tempo and sophistication of attacks... But I also feel that today, more than ever before, enterprises have better tools,' she said. 'If I think about starting a company 23 years ago, cybersecurity looked primitive then. Today, most of the solutions you're going to buy have security built into them. So, you're in a much better place than you were, say, 20–30 years ago.'She added that Gen AI will give cybersecurity teams an edge. 'We will be able to leverage Gen AI to protect infrastructure in new ways that we've never thought of before and also at a speed that we've never been able to achieve before.'Adkins also flagged the growing threat of state-backed cyber operations. 'It's a question of who has more time. And, if you think about a well-funded nation state, maybe they'll create a project, put 100 people on it, and they just work on that project throughout the day… So, they often know more because they have more time, not because they're smarter. I would say they're more likely to be successful.'While tech companies are developing robust defences, Adkins said user awareness remains equally critical. 'Unlike the physical world where you have instincts and senses to identify something dangerous, the online world does not have a parallel. We have to build that,' she said, emphasising the need to educate users in identifying malicious and fraudulent content.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
'India ahead of many in countering cyber threats'
Google Security's Heather Adkins highlights the dual role of generative AI in cybersecurity NEW DELHI: Generative AI, while being used by cyber criminals to further their activities, will also help create stronger and swifter counter-measures, making the internet safer to use, according to Heather Adkins, global VP of engineering for Google Security. Adkins, who spent over two decades at Google, also believes that rise in geopolitical tensions may fuel state-backed cyberattacks, making the world more vulnerable. However, she added that Indian govt has been at forefront of taking measures to counter cyber threats effectively, ahead of many other countries. This will also see Google Security set up an engineering centre in India. Talking to TOI on the sidelines of the 'Safer with Google India Summit', Adkins said while companies create tools to tackle cyber threats, it is equally important to sensitise users about measures to identify malicious and fraudulent content. "Unlike the physical world where you have instincts and senses to identify something dangerous, the online world does not have a parallel. We have to build that." Speaking about state-sponsored cyber threats, she said they can sometimes be more focused and successful with capabilities to deploy large teams towards such activities. "It's a question of who has more time. And, if you think about a well-funded nation state, may be they'll create a project, put 100 people on it, and they just work on that project throughout the day... by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Memperdagangkan CFD Emas dengan salah satu spread terendah? IC Markets Mendaftar Undo So, they often know more because they have more time, not because they're smarter. I would say they're more likely to be successful." On Gen AI and whether it aids cyber criminals too, Adkins said, "There's no doubt that we're seeing an increase in tempo and sophistication of attacks... But I also feel that today, more than ever before, enterprises have better tools. If I think about starting a company 23 years ago, cybersecurity looked primitive then. Today, most of the solutions you're going to buy have security built into them. So, you're in a much better place than you were, say, 20-30 years ago. " She said that Gen AI will give "defenders" a "leg up" over the threat actors. "We will be able to leverage Gen AI to protect infrastructure in new ways that we've never thought of before and also at a speed that we've never been able to achieve before." On India, she said govt here is "very engaged" on cyber safety. "... it's a hot topic. They've done a very good job in getting involved quickly and partnering with companies. The workforce here and education levels in India are pretty high. There are parts of the world I go where they're just now starting to think about cyber security and they're much further behind India." Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Google invests in SMB cybersecurity adoption as attackers focus on India
NEW DELHI : Big Tech firm Google on Tuesday announced an additional $5 million in funding to global nonprofit The Asia Foundation, as part of its 'Safety Charter' for establishing better cybersecurity practices among India's 75 million-plus small and medium businesses (SMBs). The move is a part of Google's efforts to take global cues and reduce cyber threats encountered by businesses that are largely online-facing, for which India is one of the world's largest markets, said Heather Adkins, vice-president of security engineering and founding member of Google's security team, in an interview with Mint. 'With the sheer volume of the Indian market, there is a massive amount of cyber threats that small businesses with limited resources face in India. We're working with key government departments to raise awareness and help government officials take a cyber-first mindset, and are also ramping up our total funding of cybersecurity clinics for SMBs to $20 million to help the small businesses ramp up the prioritising of cybersecurity initiatives," Adkins said. Also Read: How tech is transforming the Indian car market On Tuesday, Google also said that it is ramping up its existing awareness initiatives with officials at the home affairs ministry and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) in the face of rising scams—now popular as digital arrests. Some such attacks have seen individuals lose up to $700,000 in targeted scams, leveraging identity theft, spear phishing, and other various techniques. The Big Tech firm's safety initiatives in question seek to tackle a larger threat, which cybersecurity industry stakeholders have repeatedly raised will require efforts from governments, private firms in a public-private partnership (PPP) model, and stakeholders across agencies. To this end, Adkins said that the company already plays a role in enabling the sharing of data between organisations and geographies, as and where necessary. Collaboration across borders 'Data sharing across geographies still requires the requisite regulations to play out as intended. But if two nations are actively collaborating, then we're often a part of enabling the sharing of information as far as possible for investigations to materialise. On our end, we read trends originating in one geography to enforce preventative measures in another nation, to see if we can prevent scams from replicating across geographies. We're actively leveraging automated and artificial intelligence markers to detect which patterns of usage or conversations lead to scams and cyber breaches, and a key part of our India charter is to try and prevent them," she said. Industry stakeholders believe that investing in a ground-up solution, the roots of which Google underlined as part of its cybersecurity efforts with small businesses, could be key. Also Read: Sarvam, India's most well-funded AI startup, takes to the Big Tech playbook 'By sheer volume, small and medium businesses are the root points of an online security stack, and your cybersecurity is only as secure as its weakest link. To this end, can we set up a cyber dome akin to Israel's 'Iron Dome' air defence system? Today, this is steadily becoming an imperative," said Aditya Varma, commander (retired), Indian Navy and head, defence and homeland security for STL Networks Ltd. The key to achieving this, Varma added, would be to offer a rationalised cost structure for small businesses to invest in cybersecurity. 'It's difficult to demarcate where critical infrastructure begins in a stack of operations among businesses. The government has to play a role in subsidising access to cybersecurity, and companies such as Google, while having the capacity, could see complex business cases in bringing small businesses into the cyber-secure network," he said. Android majority Adkins, however, added that Google continues to invest in cybersecurity efforts in India, since the vast variety of businesses and the size of the country's consumers naturally make it a hotspot for various cyber scams and spam. As part of these efforts, Google is also ramping up its efforts to notify if a call is a potential spam—baking the feature natively into its Android ecosystem, she said. The latter accounts for over 95% of the 750 million active smartphones in India. This is a key factor affecting millions of users daily, beyond cyber attacks permeating small business networks. In February, Singapore-based cybersecurity firm Cyfirma highlighted the propagation of 'SpyLend'—a 'simplified finance and lending" application that spread data-stealing malware across more than 100,000 devices within one week. Also Read: India's big AI test is here: Making sovereign language models work To take on this, India is a key part of Google's security engineering efforts. 'Our security team is spread around the world—overall, we have nearly 8,000 people working horizontally across divisions on security initiatives. In India, we have over 1,000 people based in Bengaluru and Hyderabad working on security in products, security strategies, government partnerships and more. We're using these to scan billions of mobile applications on Android, and eventually, hope that we can filter out as many threats as possible," Adkins said.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Google strengthens AI-powered fraud detection and security efforts in India
Google on Tuesday, June 17, unveiled its Safety Charter in India, aiming to strengthen its efforts in AI-led fraud detection and combat the rise in digital scams across the country. In India, which is seen as a digital-first nation, fraud related to UPI grew 85 per cent year-over-year to nearly $11 billion last year. In response to increasing incidents of digital arrests and frauds—where scammers impersonate officials to extort money via video calls and fraudulent loan apps—Google is addressing these threats through the new Charter. 'India's digital journey continues to unlock incredible opportunities, but alongside that, we've also seen a rise in the sophistication and aggression of the threat landscape,' said Heather Adkins, Vice President of Engineering, Google Security, addressing a packed audience comprising media ecosystem partners, and government representatives. 'If the threats are moving at machine speed, we must react at machine speed as well.' Adkins explained that Google's Safety Charter is built on three fundamental pillars: protecting end users from online fraud, ensuring cybersecurity for governments and organizations at the enterprise level and building AI in a responsible and ethical way. During the summit, the company announced that Google Pay, one of the leading UPI-based payment apps in India, issued 41 million warnings against transactions suspected to be potential scams. Google Messages, which comes preinstalled on many Android smartphones, uses AI-powered Scam Detection, helping protect users from over 500 million suspicious messages each month. Meanwhile, Google piloted its Play Protect programme in India last year, claiming it has blocked nearly 60 million attempts to install high-risk apps. This effort has prevented the installation of over 220,000 unique malicious apps across more than 13 million devices. Adkins, a founding member of Google's security team who has been with the company for over 23 years, also highlighted how Google is leveraging artificial intelligence to detect threats. 'This is where AI comes into the fight—where humans might take days or weeks to detect a threat, we've been able to deploy Gemini to detect it in a fraction of the time,' she said. 'This isn't just about fixing the problem; it's about reacting quickly.' 'Using Gemini, we have improved threat identification by 300 percent,' she continued. 'It's like a super-fast detective, sifting through layers of information to find the needle in the haystack that unlocks a deeper understanding of the threat.' Google has partnered with the Ministry of Home Affairs' Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to raise awareness about cybercrimes, the company said in a blog post. This collaboration builds on Google's existing efforts, including the launch of its online fraud identification program, DigiKavach, which debuted in 2023 to curb the harmful effects of malicious financial apps and predatory loan apps. Anuj Bhatia is a personal technology writer at who has been covering smartphones, personal computers, gaming, apps, and lifestyle tech actively since 2011. He specialises in writing longer-form feature articles and explainers on trending tech topics. His unique interests encompass delving into vintage tech, retro gaming and composing in-depth narratives on the intersection of history, technology, and popular culture. He covers major international tech conferences and product launches from the world's biggest and most valuable tech brands including Apple, Google and others. At the same time, he also extensively covers indie, home-grown tech startups. Prior to joining The Indian Express in late 2016, he served as a senior tech writer at My Mobile magazine and previously held roles as a reviewer and tech writer at Gizbot. Anuj holds a postgraduate degree from Banaras Hindu University. You can find Anuj on Linkedin. Email: ... Read More
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Google releases 'safety charter' for India, senior exec details top cyber threat actors in the country
On digital privacy laws emerging around the world, including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, Adkins said the company advocates for standardisation and principles-based approach to enable a seamless experience as they adapt across countries, while factoring in local needs and innovation. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads India has a unique lens on how technology is being used today, given the scale of the country, the speed at which people are coming online, and the vibrancy of the business community, said Heather Adkins , VP security engineering, Google . Threat actors responding to this ecosystem also provides a useful view of the evolving threat landscape, she said, adding that patterns seen in India may be translated in other parts of the on Tuesday released a 'safety charter' for India to address online scams and fraud, cybersecurity for government and businesses, and responsible artificial intelligence. The company is looking to deepen partnerships with the government, local organisations, and academia in these areas, said under the safety charter will be executed through the Google Security Engineering Centre being set up in a hub-and-spoke model across Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, she told engagements help to understand patterns better and protect people globally, Adkins said.'What we might learn about a pattern in India will then be automatically translated to a user somewhere else in the world, which is very beneficial for us,' she said, 'and because of India's scale, you have so many people online, that gives us a lens that's very unique in the world in terms of what we can see.'Fraudulent loan apps and 'digital arrest' scams, for instance, were seen emerging in the digital privacy laws emerging around the world, including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, Adkins said the company advocates for standardisation and principles-based approach to enable a seamless experience as they adapt across countries, while factoring in local needs and innovation.'Regulation works well when it addresses the problem and gets it solved, and so what we don't want to see is regulation that makes the other problems worse,' she the question of heightened threats during conflicts like the recent India-Pakistan tensions, Adkins said cybersecurity is now a bigger factor in conflicts as well as natural disasters across the world, with scammers trying to trick people via, say, donation links.'It's really easy for the scammers to pick up on current events and then use that to trick well-intentioned people out of money, out of personal information, into installing apps that are dangerous,' she actors are also using Gen AI for greater productivity, language translation, and research, and the company is 'very concerned' about how the technology can make attacks easier, said information and signals about these trends among partners will help tackle the problem, she said, adding that AI is also key in identifying fraud emails or removing malicious is set to collaborate further with the ministry of home affairs, partnering with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) for user awareness on cybercrimes over the next two months.
