Analyst(s): Krista Case
Publication Date: August 27, 2024
The News: Google Cloud Security Summit 2024 showcased the company’s latest security solutions and strategies. Key announcements included a focus on AI-driven security, Zero Trust principles, and modernization of the security operations center. Google also emphasized the importance of supply chain security and addressed emerging threats like generative AI and cryptojacking.
What is Next for Google Cloud Security?
Analyst Take: The cybersecurity market is undergoing a push and pull between the desire for a consolidated, “platform” approach to streamline expansive and cumbersome cyber-security toolsets, with the need to point, best-of-breed solutions that address specific requirements. In the Futurum Group’s Cybersecurity Decision Maker IQ research, more than half of respondents indicated plans to add a new cybersecurity vendor—nearly 80% of which intended to do so to enhance their existing cybersecurity environment, with the ability to better address the evolving threat landscape being a dominant concern. At the same time, more than 90% of respondents indicated the need to deploy cybersecurity tools, software, and services faster when compared with 3 years ago—with more than half needing to move 50% faster or more.
For its part, Google is addressing these customer requirements with a cloud-hosted, converged approach that targets high-priority issues—the most notable of which to The Futurum Group include the need to modernize security operations and to provide secure enterprise access to cloud-hosted resources.
As a component of this strategy, Google’s Security Command Center (SCC) merges functions of SIEM, SOAR, and CNAPP tools, such as vulnerability management, threat detection, and security recommendations. At its Cloud Security Summit, Google previewed new SCC capabilities that act like a red team to uncover security issues, specifically simulating millions of attack permutations, according to Google, that target high-value assets hosted in the cloud.
On the identity and access management front, it is relevant to note that SCC now supports Entra ID (Azure AD) and Okta identities on Google Cloud and AWS IAM identities for AWS—supporting Zero Trust principles by allowing customers to establish least privilege access models in multi-cloud environments. Google also announced various other capabilities that will help facilitate Zero Trust architectures, including its Privileged Access Manager (PAM) capability, now in preview, which allows high-privilege users to have elevated access for a specific, designated point in time.
Important to note, it is infusing AI and threat intelligence strategically, for example, to enhance threat detection capabilities and accelerate threat remediation. An example of this coming out of the Google Cloud Security Summit is the Mandiant Custom Threat Hunt service, which complements and supplements managed detection and response services and in-house threat hunting teams.
What to Watch:
Google’s broad technology investments in the security domain, as well as the fact that it has a dedicated summit for security, reflect the increasing value of cybersecurity as a differentiator for the cloud hyperscalers. This trend is further reiterated by the fact that AWS is also steadily building a broad suite of security services, and by re:Inforce, AWS’ in-person conference dedicated to security.
As threat vectors evolve more quickly and become more sophisticated than ever before, it becomes increasingly necessary for the cloud hyperscalers to not only invest in the security of the cloud infrastructure services they are providing but also robust add-on security services to better empower customers to defend and withstand attacks.
Arguably the most material reflection of this is Google’s reported offer to acquire cloud security expert and start-up unicorn Wiz for $23 billion—a deal that would have immediately expanded Google’s access to innovative technology and a team of talented professionals in the cybersecurity domain. For example, Wiz is a player in the CNAPP space that Google has been investing in. It made a splash raising $1 billion in its seed funding round in May 2024 and reportedly chose to decline Google’s acquisition offer—validating the current market opportunity and potential growth while reflecting the strong and vast range of competition in the space moving forward.
It is clear that Mandiant will play an increasingly important role in Google Cloud’s differentiation in the security market, with Google touting Mandiant’s long-standing “front line” credibility and expertise in threat intelligence, incident response, and consulting services. This is a smart approach, with the ability to keep pace with evolving threat victors and optimize incident response being top-of-mind.
Additional detail on Google’s Cloud Security Summit 2024 is available on the company’s website here.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other insights from The Futurum Group:
Google Cloud – Q2 Earnings Deep Dive
Navigating the AI-Fueled Future: Insights from Google Cloud Next ’24
Author Information
With a focus on data security, protection, and management, Krista has a particular focus on how these strategies play out in multi-cloud environments. She brings approximately 15 years of experience providing research and advisory services and creating thought leadership content. Her vantage point spans technology and vendor portfolio developments; customer buying behavior trends; and vendor ecosystems, go-to-market positioning, and business models. Her work has appeared in major publications including eWeek, TechTarget and The Register.
Prior to joining The Futurum Group, Krista led the data protection practice for Evaluator Group and the data center practice of analyst firm Technology Business Research. She also created articles, product analyses, and blogs on all things storage and data protection and management for analyst firm Storage Switzerland and led market intelligence initiatives for media company TechTarget.
