Accelerating cybersecurity resilience through the expanded Accenture-Google Cloud partnership

Accenture and Google Cloud have partnered since 2018 to help the world’s largest organizations digitally transform their enterprises by harnessing our data analytics, AI/ML, and services expertise to build stronger digital cores. Today at the RSA Conference 2023 in San Francisco, we’re excited to announce that the next phase in our growing partnership will focus on enhancing Accenture Security’s Managed Extended Detection and Response (MxDR) service by integrating Chronicle Security Operations, Mandiant Threat Intelligence, and Security AI Workbench. With these enhancements to MxDR, we will be able to better help businesses on any cloud platform transform their security programs, protect critical assets, and stay ahead of cyber threats, making customers more secure and confident in their cyber security readiness. 

Organizations of all sizes face increasingly destructive attacks from malicious threat actors who target even the slightest vulnerability. In this constantly changing landscape, it can be difficult for businesses to understand the full extent of cyber risks they are exposed to, along with the right tools they need to adequately monitor, detect, and respond to attacks. 

Our partnership will address these challenges by achieving three critical objectives: 

1. Transforming enterprise security with Google Cloud technology and Mandiant intelligence; 

2. Providing world-class services expertise with Accenture Security; and 

3. Customizing security postures to meet any organizations' needs. 

Cybersecurity resilience through industry-leading technology and intelligence 

Threat detection and incident response is the biggest hurdle many cybersecurity teams face. IT teams can receive as many as 10,000 alerts daily, which can lead to a significant percentage of attacks going undetected, and many more unsuccessfully stopped because an organization used the wrong tools or was simply too slow to respond. Accenture’s new MxDR service provides the ongoing, managed support that businesses need to build an optimal defense and stay nimble. Through our expanded partnership, the MxDR service includes: 

• Chronicle Security Operations: A modern, cloud-first security operations platform that enables security teams to detect, investigate, and respond to cyber threats with the speed, scale, and intelligence of Google. Enterprises can eliminate security blindspots with the ability to ingest and analyze all relevant security telemetry, and proactively get ahead of threats by seeing their environments through an attacker’s eyes. Chronicle also combines actionable threat intelligence with AI-powered search and analytics, helping analysts streamline investigations, automate successful security outcomes, and significantly reduce response times. 

• Google Cloud and Mandiant threat intelligence: World-class threat intelligence that gives security teams better knowledge of threat actors and their methodologies. Enterprises get access to frontline threat intelligence in real-time from the latest Mandiant incident response investigations, with a team of analysts who operate around-the-clock in more 26 countries and utilize crowd-sourced intelligence from VirusTotal. This intelligence is incorporated into Chronicle Security Operations to provide automated detection capabilities, along with research tailored to individual organizations. 

Improving security outcomes with generative AI

We’re thrilled that Accenture Security will be the first company to utilize Google Cloud Security AI Workbench, a new extensible platform powered by a specialized, security large language model (LLM), Sec-PaLM, which leverages Google’s visibility into the threat landscape and Mandiant’s frontline intelligence on vulnerabilities, malware, threat indicators, and more. Accenture will integrate the LLM with its new MxDR service to give security experts a more natural and efficient way to understand and manage security for customers, going beyond what they could do alone. With these advancements, Accenture can significantly accelerate incident analysis and novel AI-based detections to prevent and respond to infections and attacks.

Cyber protection with Accenture Security experts and solutions

The new Accenture MxDR service is grounded in technology and optimized through its worldwide network of cybersecurity and Google Cloud professionals. Working closely with Google Cloud and Mandiant, Accenture Security has more than 19,500 experts to deliver end-to-end managed detection and response that incorporates every component of a successful security program, including strategy and design, implementation, and managed support. Accenture’s skilled cybersecurity professionals, industry experts, and global cyber fusion centers will ensure that organizations are set up to successfully protect their entire business end-to-end, analyzing every endpoint, network, collaboration tool, and operational technology to mitigate vulnerabilities. 

Customized security approaches

We recognize that every organization is unique, with different cloud architectures, data practices, collaboration tools, and workforce sizes. Accenture’s MxDR service considers a comprehensive set of factors in how a business operates when building an optimal security program. That’s why we’re creating three core pillars under the umbrella of Accenture’s MxDR service. 

The first is a bespoke service that accounts for location- and industry-specific needs for customers that require more than a one-size-fits-all offering. This is perfect for large-scale, global organizations that need to protect wide surface areas and high volumes of assets. The second offering is for businesses looking for more traditional managed detection and response capabilities, which will be available through easy-to-consume service modules that can be implemented quickly. Finally, we’re launching a new platform to deliver greater situational security and awareness, which is specifically aimed at organizations focused on crisis management and incident response.

Looking ahead

Our partnership expansion is part of a long-term commitment to help businesses build comprehensive, resilient cybersecurity programs tailored to their unique needs. Looking ahead, customers can expect us to continue helping enterprises incorporate advanced security tools at scale, staying ahead of threats through our combined expertise and end-to-end security capabilities. 

Accenture’s new MxDR service is available today. Customers can learn more here.