Sundar Pichai Expresses Condemnation of Attacks on Israel, Increases Security for Google Employees in Region
In an internal email to employees, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has outlined his strategies for ensuring employee safety, enhancing cybersecurity efforts, and combating misinformation amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Pichai specifically mentioned the two Google offices in Israel, located in Tel Aviv and Hanifa, where a total of two thousand employees are based. He emphasized the company’s commitment to taking all necessary measures to protect its employees and provide any required assistance.
The internal email was sent on Saturday, just hours after the Hamas attack on Israel. 9to5Google obtained the email and shared its contents in a report. In it, Pichai said, “I’m sure you’ve all seen the news about Israel’s horrific attacks on civilians and the escalated conflict that’s going on now.”
“Google has two offices and over 2,000 employees in Israel and it is unimaginable what they are going through right now. Our first priority is to ensure that every Google employee in the region is accounted for and safe – in addition to our local employees, we have identified more who are traveling there. GSRS continues to conduct security checks such as we’re talking — to locate every employee and to make sure they’re getting the best possible security information from our experts. We’ve spent today contacting most of them, but it’s going to take some time to get to all of them,” he added.
According to the report, Google has completed its security audit and shared security information with them. Google will continue to communicate and support employees in Israel.
Google provides authentic information amid the Israel-Hamas conflict
The first part of the email focused on employee safety, while the second part focused on “providing official information in times of crisis and breaking news.”
“Our teams are working around the clock to ensure this and to detect and remove graphically violent, hateful or terrorist content or coordinated disinformation campaigns,” Pichai said.
Google also released a full statement on the situation, which 9to5Google has also shared.
Statement: Following the horrific attacks in Israel, our immediate focus is on ensuring the safety of our employees. We have now contacted all our local employees and will continue to support them.
We also strive to provide reliable and accurate information to people who use our products. Our Google and YouTube systems prioritize authoritative information in crisis situations and during news. Our teams work around the clock to ensure this and to detect and remove graphically violent, hateful or terrorist content or coordinated disinformation campaigns.
Our cyber security experts share their findings in real time with the wider information security community. For example, our security unit Mandiant has detected fake accounts linked to Iran promoting anti-Israel narratives on various services, as well as investigating reports of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks by suspected Hamas sympathizers and professionals. -Russian hacktivist groups targeting Israeli government websites.
Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones and all those affected.
