Google and Microsoft have announced that they will invest an amount to advance cybersecurity in the US over the next five years. The decision was made after a meeting with president Joe Biden. Together they will invest $30 billion of which $20 billion is pledged by Microsoft and $10 billion by Google.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft explained that, of the $20 billion, $150 million will make its way to help the company’s training partnerships. It will also help US government agencies to enhance their digital security systems. The White House statement regarding the same stated that Microsoft will invest $150 million immediately “in technical services to help federal, state, and local governments with upgrading security protection.” The company will also partner with community colleges and other non-profit organizations for providing cybersecurity training, it added.
Google is planning on developing the existing zero-trust security model, protecting the software supply chain, bringing out open-source security, and providing more cybersecurity training. Google is expecting to train over 100,000 Americans over the next three years by conducting Google Career Certificate programs.
The meeting between the tech companies, cybersecurity experts, and Biden was to discuss the cybersecurity issues in the country. Recently the country had faced serious threats like the SolarWinds attack. The meeting discussed the possible solutions in terms of defense against such attacks. While Google and Microsoft had pledged investments in the field, Apple said that it will establish new criteria for improved security. Amazon has offered to train people in cybersecurity without any charge. Similar decisions were made by organizations like IBM and Girls Who Code and Code.org.
Investing $30billion in cybersecurity will help the country to move towards a more secure future for its cyber world.
