Meet the hackers keeping you safe online

The work of Google’s security teams mostly happens behind closed doors — whether that be intercepting government backed cyber attacks, or taking on the job of hacking Google to strengthen our defenses. But today, we’re taking you behind the scenes with HACKING GOOGLE, a new six-part docuseries featuring the elite security teams that keep you safe everyday.

The story begins in 2010, when we announced to the world that Google had witnessed a sophisticated nation-state attack against our corporate infrastructure that resulted in the theft of intellectual property and affected at least 20 other companies. The attack was a watershed moment in the history of cybersecurity. Dubbed Operation Aurora, it was the first time that a company like Google had publicly acknowledged an attack of this magnitude. And it was the turning point for how we secure Google’s infrastructure.

In the aftermath of Aurora, we began a complete overhaul of our security team, strategy and technical capabilities. Billions of dollars of new investment, thousands of the world’s top security experts, new paradigms, new hardware and new highly specialized teams were gathered, all with one purpose: to ensure that users stay safe in the face of any and all future attacks. Thirteen years later, we’re proud to say that Google keeps more people safe online than anyone else in the world.

HACKING GOOGLE profiles some of the many teams that do this work. The series is now public following our H4CK1NG G00GL3 Challenge, which saw thousands of hackers, hobbyists, and students from more than a hundred countries work together over the weekend to solve security puzzles and unlock each of the episodes:

• Episode 000: Operation Aurora. What happens when a nation-state attacks a company? Google found out and cybersecurity was never the same again.
• Episode 001: Threat Analysis Group. Watchguards. Lookouts. Sentries. When faced with threats there have always been those who look out to protect the rest. But who looks out for the threats lurking online?
• Episode 002: Detection & Response. Meet the internet’s fire department, the elite team that answers the call when chaos ignites online.
• Episode 003: Red Team. They have one job: hack Google from the inside.
• Episode 004: Bug Hunters. They’re high schoolers, lawyers, IT professionals, and hobbyists. And they’ve made millions hacking Google in their free time.
• Episode 005: Project Zero. Zero days. They can be the world’s most dangerous exploits. And the race is on to find them before the attackers do.
• And finally, Hacking Google to Defend Enterprise. Go behind the scenes with Chief Information Security Officer of Google Cloud, Phil Venables, to meet the people keeping every organization on Google Cloud safe from threats.

Every day, billions of people use Google to find reliable information, get to their destination, connect with loved ones, and more. When people use our products and services, it’s our responsibility to keep their personal information private, safe and secure.

For the never-before-told stories of the experts who do this work, check out HACKING GOOGLE, now streaming on YouTube.