Google puts Malaga on the map with plans for a cybersecurity centre of excellence

The technology giant has also announced the first private underwater cable to connect Spain with the United States and the United Kingdom. Google has chosen Malaga as the headquarters of a cybersecurity centre of excellence that will have an international reach.

It will be located in the old military government building on Paseo de la Farola which will be completely renovated to adapt to its new role.

The technology giant will have 2,500 square metres of space to relocate the more than 40 engineers that make up the Virustotal team who are currently based at the University of Malaga.

There will also be open spaces for the public and businesses, where “training, talks, workshops and mentoring on cybersecurity” will be given, according to company sources.

“The choice of Malaga to host this new Google hub is not by chance,” they say. “This region has great talent.”

Google began its association with the city of Malaga in 2012, when it acquired the company VirusTotal, founded by Bernardo Quintero from the city. Quintero has since become one of the top managers of Google’s cybersecurity division worldwide.

The cybersecurity centre of excellence doesn’t yet have an opening date as the renovation works of the building will be “long and complex”.

Investments of 650 million euros

Google has also announced other projects aimed at promoting the digitisation of Spain with investments worth 650 millioneuros this Thursday (11 February) at a meeting between the vicepresident of Google Iberia, Fuencisla Clemares, and Nadia Calviño, the Minister of Affairs for Economic and Digital Transition of the Government of Spain.

The technology giant said that, “Before the pandemic, only 14 per cent of Spanish companies had a digitisation plan and today only 16 per cent use cloud services. The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) indicates that 43 per cent of people between 16 and 74 years old in Spain lack basic digital skills. With the aim of supporting this transformation, Google announces the investment of more than 650 million euros over five years to help the digital transformation of the country.”

This investment will include the establishment of Google’s first ‘cloud region’ in Spain, announced in collaboration with Telefónica, and also Google’s first private underwater cable to connect Spain with the United States and the United Kingdom which will “allow Spanish companies and public administrations to accelerate their growth and unleash the potential of low latency, high performance cloud services”.

The company said, “During the pandemic, Google has worked with governments around the world, including Spain, to help face this crisis. In Spain we are collaborating with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation to provide official information about Covid-19, and with the Ministry of Education to show how our technology can help in distance learning.”

“We have an opportunity ahead and we are convinced that public-private collaboration can make it possible to strengthen the country to face changes and uncertainty and take advantage of the opportunities that technology offers us,” said company sources.

Source: Sur in English, 2021.