Google backs creation of cybersecurity clinics with $20 million donation
Free medical clinics and legal aid clinics, where college students and their instructors help their communities while also learning more about their professions, are now commonplace
WASHINGTON (AP) — Free medical clinics and legal aid clinics, where college students and their instructors help their communities while also learning more about their professions, are now commonplace. Google hopes to add cybersecurity clinics to that list.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai pledged $20 million in grants on Thursday to support and expand the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics to introduce thousands of students to potential careers in cybersecurity, while also helping defend small government offices, rural hospitals and nonprofits from hacking.
“Just as technology can create new threats, it can also help us fight them,” Pichai said, announcing the commitment at Google's Washington headquarters. “Security was critical to the work I did early in my Google career, including when we built our Chrome browser. Today, it’s core to everything we do, and the current inflection point in AI is helping take our efforts to the next level.”
The tech giant launched the Google Cybersecurity Certificate program last month to help prepare people for entry-level cybersecurity jobs. It also partnered with universities in New York on a research program to create learning and career opportunities across the cybersecurity sector.
