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Scoop: Google lands cloud deal with Defense Department

Ina Fried, author of Login

Photo: Google

Google Cloud has landed a deal to help the Defense Department detect, protect against, and respond to cyber threats, Axios has learned. The deal, with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), is in the "seven figures," Google said, declining to be more specific.

Why it matters: It's a far cry from the controversial $10 billion JEDI deal, but Google hopes the win will lead to a broader deal down the road, as the Pentagon seeks to securely work with multiple public cloud providers.

What they're saying: "Multi-cloud is the future," Google Cloud VP of public sector Mike Daniels told Axios, noting that most businesses use a mix of clouds, including Google, Amazon's AWS and Microsoft Azure. "This is now coming to the federal government as well."

For DIU, Google is helping the agency move to what's known as a "zero trust" environment in which devices are not allocated network resources based on their physical location, but rather granted access based on other factors, such as identity and behavior.

The big picture: The deal comes as Amazon contests the Pentagon's award of the giant JEDI contract to Microsoft last year.

  • Google dropped out of vying for that wide-ranging contract before bidding began in earnest, but has been stepping up its public-sector effort, for which it aims to triple staffing over the next few years.

Go deeper

Orion Rummler
Aug 27, 2020 - Politics & Policy

McCarthy: Congress is more worried about Big Tech than a year ago

Axios co-founder Mike Allen (l) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Congress is more worried about Big Tech now than it was a year ago, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Axios on Thursday during a virtual event.

What he's saying: "Their power is only getting larger, and in the world of COVID, it's getting larger because they have more influence. But I don't think they're forthcoming on a lot, I have real concerns on what Google has been doing."

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends
Aug 28, 2020 - Technology

Microsoft and Walmart look to boost ads, e-commerce with TikTok deal

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios


As Microsoft and Walmart work together on a deal to buy TikTok's U.S. business from China's ByteDance, the giants each see fresh opportunities to expand into long-coveted markets — advertising in Microsoft's case and e-commerce for Walmart. But both companies have decidedly mixed track records in these realms.

By the numbers: Walmart currently makes less than 8% of its total revenue on e-commerce, despite pricey forays into the industry, like its $3.3 billion acquisition of the now-defunct Jet.com in 2016. Microsoft makes less than 5% of its revenue on digital ads, despite its $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016 and numerous other forays into ad-supported businesses

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan
6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Gina Haspel threatened to resign over plan to install Kash Patel as CIA deputy

CIA Director Gina Haspel. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy, according to three senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Why it matters: The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world's most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences — and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone — stopped it.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow