Google Unveils ‘Safety Charter’ to Strengthen India’s Digital Security Ecosystem
In a bold move to bolster cybersecurity and promote safer internet use in India, Google on Tuesday launched its new ‘Safety Charter’ at the Safer with Google India Summit. The initiative aims to address the growing threat of online fraud, safeguard critical infrastructure, and ensure that artificial intelligence is developed and deployed responsibly.
The Safety Charter revolves around three strategic pillars:
- Protecting users from scams and fraud
- Enhancing cybersecurity for governments and businesses
- Developing responsible, people-first AI systems
Digikavach: Reaching Millions with AI-Powered Protection
One of the central components of the charter is Google’s ‘Digikavach’ programme, which has already touched over 177 million Indians. Through AI tools and targeted awareness campaigns, Digikavach is actively helping users recognize and avoid financial scams.
AI is increasingly at the heart of Google’s security architecture. The company revealed that:
- Search now detects 20 times more scam websites
- Customer service and government-related scam attempts have fallen by 80% and 70% respectively
- Google Messages is blocking over 500 million scam texts each month
Massive Impact Through Popular Platforms
- Google Pay, used by millions across India, has sent over 41 million alerts warning users of suspicious transactions, preventing fraud worth ₹13,000 crore in 2024 alone.
- Google Play Protect, the company’s app safety tool, has blocked nearly 60 million risky app installations across 13 million devices since its pilot launch in India in October 2024.
- Gmail is automatically intercepting more than 99.9% of spam, phishing, and malware attempts.
Next-Level Cybersecurity with AI and Partnerships
Google is also investing in cybersecurity at a systemic level. A new AI-powered threat detection model is being used to identify potential cyberattacks early, allowing for real-time threat sharing with businesses and government institutions.
The company’s Project Zero team, in collaboration with DeepMind, recently identified critical vulnerabilities in widely-used platforms like SQLite—well before they could be exploited.
To further strengthen the region’s resilience, Google.org has pledged $20 million to expand the Asia-Pacific Cybersecurity Fund, with $5 million directed to The Asia Foundation. This will support the creation of 10 new cyber clinics and provide training in digital safety to students and small businesses across India.
Strategic Collaborations for Future Security
In a forward-looking step, Google has partnered with IIT-Madras to drive research in Post-Quantum Cryptography, an emerging area crucial for building secure digital systems in the era of quantum computing.
Leadership Emphasizes Trust and Safety
Preeti Lobana, Vice President and Country Manager for Google India, underlined that user trust is fundamental to India’s digital growth story. “Our AI tools can now identify previously unknown scams, giving users advanced protection,” she said.
Heather Adkins, Vice President of Engineering for Google Security, emphasized the accelerating pace of online threats. “Attackers are moving at machine speed. With AI, we now have the ability to defend at machine speed too,” she noted.
