Announcing the Risk Protection Program: Moving from shared responsibility to shared fate

At Google Cloud, our mission is to enable organizations around the world to transform their business using digital technology. We want to make it easy for organizations to transition even their most sensitive workloads onto our platform, and that includes navigating risk management in the ever-evolving cloud-native environment. Working closely with customers to deliver better security and risk outcomes is a core pillar of our strategy to be the most Trusted Cloud provider. We are committed to delivering a more secure experience to our customers and enhancing trust in the cloud ecosystem.

As we explored how we could help organizations more confidently move critical workloads to the cloud, we saw an opportunity to provide more assurances and further drive digital transformation through closer integration with their overall risk management program. That’s why today, we’re excited to introduce a first-of-its-kind partnership between a major cloud provider and leading cyber insurance companies called the Risk Protection Program.

The Risk Protection Program helps Google Cloud customers reduce security risk and connect with our insurer partners, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) and Munich Re, who designed a specialized cyber insurance policy exclusively for Google Cloud customers, called Cloud Protection +. We worked closely with AGCS and Munich Re to co-design the Risk Protection Program to ensure we could bring a differentiated risk management solution to Google Cloud customers to reduce risk, potentially reduce costs, and build further trust in our platform.

"We partnered with our industry peer Munich Re to design this policy specifically for cloud technology users, from the ground up. We recognized that by working with Google Cloud, we are able to better understand customers’ risk through more insightful data. These additional insights allow us to not only reward Google Cloud customers with more efficient insurance purchasing and better policy terms, but also allow us to help drive customers to take a proactive security stance, by tying premium pricing to actual security posture.” —Jody Yee - Managing Director, Alternative Risk Transfer, AGCS.

Our differentiated viewpoint on risk management

Google Cloud is uniquely positioned to change the way customers manage security risk associated with their cloud workloads by creating shared fate around security. The Risk Protection Program introduces a powerful new Google Cloud security diagnostic tool called Risk Manager, which enables customers to measure and manage their risk on Google Cloud and obtain a report on their security posture. Working with their broker, customers can use Risk Manager to send reports to AGCS and Munich Re, who in turn can leverage the reports to assess customers’ security posture and underwriting eligibility for Cloud Protection +.

An industry-first partnership with two of the world’s leading insurance providers 

Tackling the issue of risk management in the cloud required a collaboration with insurance industry leaders to create a complete solution for our customers. AGCS and Munich Re streamlined their underwriting process and evolved their insurance policies  with the data-driven technology that insureds deploy to create Cloud Protection +.

“Our confidence in Google Cloud’s overall security level and improved data insights provided through the Risk Manager tool reports allowed us to create the Cloud Protection + policy. A specialized cover that provides Google Cloud customers an enhanced cyber coverage and a streamlined application process, tied directly to the implementation of security measures shown in the Risk Manager report. By seamlessly combining Google’s cutting edge cloud technology with our best in class risk transfer expertise, Munich Re and AGCS are now positioned to offer a superior solution to our clients.” - Robert Parisi, Head of Cyber Solutions-North America, Munich Re. 

Moving toward a shared fate model

With the Risk Protection Program, we are pushing the boundaries of the security capabilities customers should expect a cloud platform to deliver. Shared fate goes beyond the existing cloud security model, helping customers not only reduce risk, but potentially build a more comprehensive and efficient risk management program. We expect better risk management will, in turn, accelerate digital transformation and drive a virtuous cycle of risk reduction enabled by Google Cloud:

Today, we are proud to provide customers the technology to secure their data, the tools to monitor the security of that data, and peace of mind with the Risk Protection Program, a uniquely Google risk transfer solution to complete their risk management program. The Risk Manager tool is now in Private Preview for customers in the United States where we will prioritize access for our Security Command Center Premium customers. 

To express interest in the Risk Manager Preview Program, please use this form, and learn more about Cloud Protection + here.