Google Threat Analysis Group
Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) is an in-house counterintelligence task group. Led by Shane Huntley, the group is self-described as “a specialized team of security experts that works to identify, report, and stop government-backed phishing and hacking against Google and the people who use [their] products.”1)
History
In the summer of 2018, TAG squashed “an allegedly Iranian-backed disinformation campaign by pulling dozens of YouTube channels that were using fake accounts to push misleading political stories primarily about the Middle East.”2)
Organization
Personnel
TAG is “staffed partly by former government agents.”3)
1)
Huntley, S. (2020, April 22). Findings on COVID-19 and online security threats. Google. http://archive.today/2021.05.08-070950/https://blog.google/threat-analysis-group/findings-covid-19-and-online-security-threats/
2)
, 3)
McMillan, R. (2019, January 23). Inside Google’s Team Fighting to Keep Your Data Safe From Hackers. Wall Street Journal. http://archive.today/2020.01.01-143527/https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-googles-team-battling-hackers-11548264655