Google and Malaga, an idyll that began five years ago and that has crystallized with the opening of the Security Engineering Center (GSEC) of the technological giant in the capital of the Costa del Sol. This new space, located in The former headquarters of the Military Government, is called to be the spearhead of cybersecurity in Europe, for which experts in the field from the North American company will work together with academics, companies and governments of the continent.
Under a gigantic G of Google on the access fence to the building, the president of Google Global Affairs, Kent Walker, the general director of Google in Spain and Portugal, Fuencisla Clemares, the general director of Public Policies of Google, met this Wednesday. , Miguel Escassi, the Minister of Digital Transformation, José Luis Escrivá and the mayor of the capital of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre. Everyone has agreed to value and highlight the synergy that exists in Malaga as a leading city in innovation and new technologies.
Google wanted to respect the idiosyncrasy of its new home and has made several nods to Malaga culture throughout the 2,500 square meters that make up the work area. In some of the rooms and spaces spread across its three floors and the basement, there are nods to everything from sardine skewers to the well-known comedian Chiquito de la Calzada: ‘Merendero’, ‘Espeto’, ‘Boqueron’ or ‘Moraga’ are some of the names of the units and there are references to video games with spaces called ‘Wololo’ (from the game ‘Age of Empires’), ‘Final Fantasy’, ‘Monkey Island’ or ‘Mario Bros’, among other aspects worth highlighting.
The center “will allow us to redouble our efforts to make the Internet a better and safer place.” expressed Google’s President of Global Affairs, Kent Walker, who stressed that cyber threats “are more sophisticated, costly and aggressive, and undermine the trust essential to creating a dynamic and inclusive society.” “It will be a space for collaboration between experts, academics, companies and European governments in which to discuss good practices, share research and knowledge and, ultimately, achieve advances in security beneficial to all,” he stressed.
For his part, the Minister of Digital Transformation, José Luis Escrivá, highlighted that the city and Spain are placed “at a central point in cybersecurity”, becoming “a driver of a lot of activity and talent.” He has been the general director of Policies Google Public, Miguel Escassi, who has highlighted that Spain is the most important economy in Europe in digitalization, since the mayor of the city, Francisco Torres, highlighted the crucial role of Bernardo Quintero, founder of TotalVirus, in achieving that the company decided to settle in Malaga. Thus, the first mayor has influenced the creation of direct jobs that the start-up of the center will generate and that will benefit the economy, as well as its catalytic role in innovation, inspiring local companies to improve its products and services, and further boost the growth and prosperity of Malaga.
Fuencisla Clemares, the general director of Google in Spain and Portugal, highlighted moments before the ribbon cutting that the GSEC in Malaga will be a center to share knowledge, improve practices and develop products around cybersecurity, as well as to inform people so that they are better prepared for cyber threats, while determining that the choice of Malaga was motivated by having a notable ecosystem of entrepreneurs and technology, and by being the place that saw the birth of the VirusTotal platform, which currently belongs to Google . About 70 workers, almost 90% of VirusTotal, are going to work at the GSEC in Malaga,
He was the founder of the company VirusTotal, which sold its business in 2012 to the technology giant with the condition that it remain in Malaga, the architect of the Center opening in the south. And Google did not want to miss the opportunity to pay tribute to him at the installation, located on Paseo de la Farola, next to the port.
Thus, among the spaces for relaxation, for food (highlighting local products and typical dishes of Malaga gastronomy), and even for leisure (academic machines, table football…), there are meeting rooms in honor of the company. which are named ‘Wannacry’, ‘Stucknet’ and ‘Mirai’.
At its headquarters, Google has taken maximum care of the construction materials to generate the lowest possible carbon footprint, and has also made room for symbolic construction and decorative elements such as, for example, handmade bricks for a large mural in its auditorium, or floor tiles that recreate the same patterns as those of the church of San Juan in Málaga. It is notable that the building, built in the 1950s, was disused since the 1990s and has undergone a major renovation from which only its exterior has been saved as it is protected.
In the decorative aspect, old images of the Military Government or Doodles dedicated to Chiquito de la Calzada or the sardine skewer have been maintained.
Most of the property, around 1,500 meters, is used for events, among which expert meetings, training for officials, companies and organizations have been announced, but visits by groups, such as schools, They will be able to see, among other things, “the most infected computer in the world”, which hosts up to 30 malicious software processes running at the same time.
