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CASSIE KOZYRKOV: Hello, and welcome to the security
zone here at Google Next.
We're here with Maya, an expert in infrastructure security.
Thanks for being here, Maya.
MAYA KACZOROWSKI: Thank you for having me, Cassie.
CASSIE KOZYRKOV: So I'm so glad that you're here
because I would love to know more about how
you provide security for users and employees at Google.
MAYA KACZOROWSKI: Of course.
By some accounts, Google's network delivers more than 25%
of internet traffic.
So our infrastructure is super critical,
and security is one of our highest priorities
for that global infrastructure.
CASSIE KOZYRKOV: So if I'm running a business,
how do I use Google Cloud infrastructure to protect
my data?
MAYA KACZOROWSKI: Let's walk through an example.
To start off, say you upload a file into Google Drive
from your Pixelbook.
So I have this photo of a really cute dog here,
and I want to save that for later.
So I'll just drag that into Google Drive, and it uploads.
And that happened super fast.
But let's break down what happened to that file
and how it was secured along the way.
CASSIE KOZYRKOV: Let's do it.
MAYA KACZOROWSKI: So when you connect to a Google service
over the internet, Google requires that the connection
is encrypted.
That means the data that you sent to Google
will be encrypted in transit so it can't be read
by a malicious third party.
Connections to Google services come into our network
through Google front end servers,
which terminate your connection and provide encryption
using the HTTPS protocol.
CASSIE KOZYRKOV: So my data is encrypted in transit to Google
without me having to do anything?
MAYA KACZOROWSKI: Yeah, that's right.
The Google front end also routes your request
to the right service.
So once it's inside Google's infrastructure,
your data travels over our network backbone
and might go to another location.
Let's say that in your case, to reach its destination,
your file travels across a Google-owned undersea cable.
CASSIE KOZYRKOV: You mean one of these things.
MAYA KACZOROWSKI: Exactly.
Those are undersea cables that we have under the sea.
And so you'll see there there's a fiber optic cable
right in the middle surrounded by multiple layers of steel.
And they even have shark-proof armor and rubber coverings,
because that's an issue that we have to encounter.
Google operates one of the largest backbone
networks in the world.
It connects our data centers with hundreds of thousands
of miles of fiber optic cable.
The blue lines here represent the current Google network,
and the green lines indicate new network cables
that Google's developing.
CASSIE KOZYRKOV: So the file's been encrypted in transit
to Google's network and then sent
to the right place over Google's global private network.
So what happens to the file next?
MAYA KACZOROWSKI: Next, we'll store the file
that you uploaded on one of Google servers.
Customer content stored by Google Cloud Services,
like Google Drive, is encrypted at rest by default.
Here's how that works.
The file that we uploaded is first chunked--
broken up into pieces.
And each chunk is encrypted with its own data encryption key.
Each data encryption key is then wrapped using a key encryption
key, which is stored centrally.
The encrypted chunks and their keys
are distributed across Google's storage infrastructure
for security and reliability.
If your file is updated.
it's re-encrypted with a new key rather
than re-using the existing key.
As a result of this process, if a bad actor
wanted to access data, they would not only
need all the pieces of the file, which are spread out
across multiple servers, but they would also
need access to all of the keys.
CASSIE KOZYRKOV: So the file is automatically encrypted
at rest on Google servers.
MAYA KACZOROWSKI: That's right, without you
having to take any action.
Let's take a look into the servers protecting the file
and how they're protected.
We design our own hardware at Google, as well as
our own software, to make sure that we have complete control
over our infrastructure.
Google's servers contain a custom Google Titan security
chip.
Titan helps to make sure that no unauthorized machines
or software operate on our network.
If Titan is not present or Titan can't
verify the integrity of the server software,
the server will not boot.
That means a malicious actor can't
start up a fake service, for example,
and get access to your data.
If everything is as expected, the machine
comes online and is ready for action.
CASSIE KOZYRKOV: This is a real Titan chip.
There are chips like these in servers
across Google's infrastructure that
protect Google's servers, like the one I uploaded a file to.
MAYA KACZOROWSKI: These servers sit
in Google-owned data centers.
The physical security of these data centers
is yet another level of protection.
Google data centers include metal detectors, secure access
cards, and biometric scanners.
Data centers are monitored 24/7 by high resolution interior
and exterior cameras, have large fences--
some threatening local wildlife like
alligators in some locations-- and vehicle access barriers
to protect unauthorized entrance into the data center.
CASSIE KOZYRKOV: So let's summarize the whole thing,
then.
The file we uploaded is encrypted in transit
when it's traveling outside our physical boundaries,
encrypted at rest by default, and protected
in Google-designed and -owned servers, security chips,
and data centers.
MAYA KACZOROWSKI: Exactly.
And millions of files are being uploaded every day
to Google Cloud that are being protected
by this global infrastructure.
CASSIE KOZYRKOV: Well, thanks, Maya,
for taking us through the journey a file takes
as it makes its way securely from the device
to the data center.
MAYA KACZOROWSKI: My pleasure.
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