Google's CIO Discusses Security

Google has historically been quiet about its security efforts, but for the first time, the company is opening up about some of its initiatives. Google researchers recently presented a paper on Web security at a technical conference in Cambridge, MA, discussing the results of the company's ongoing effort to "identify all Web pages on the Internet that could potentially be malicious." The company even started its first-ever security blog, giving the world an inside look at Google's 100-person security team. IDG News Service recently had the opportunity to sit down with Douglas Merrill, Google's vice president of engineering and chief information officer. In the interview he says that Google security is something that could be turned into a product some day, but for now the company is fundamentally focused on search. He also offers his thoughts on the increasing integration of consumer technology into the enterprise space. "We obviously believe in this idea of the Web 2.0, where you're collecting different kinds of applications together to meet consumer needs. The firewall is one line of defense, and it's still useful, just like locks on front doors are still useful. But you need other kinds of defenses as well," he said.

For more on Google's ongoing security research:
- Read the full interview in CIO Magazine