Google leads the charge against cybercrime with new Global Signal Exchange

Key Takeaways

• Google is partnering with the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) and DNS Research Federation (DNS RF) to form the Global Signal Exchange (GSE).
• GSE is a platform for sharing scam and fraud-abuse data, ensuring partners have access and real-time visibility into cybercriminal networks and markers.
• GSE will begin operations on January 1, 2025, with its early pilot tests showing efficacy.

Scams and online fraud are a reality of the world we live in. From the likes of phishing emails, investment scams, and crypto-related scams to social engineering, fake websites, and online job scams, there are a lot of ways bad actors can attempt to sour your time online — making it all the more important for you as a user to remain vigilant.

The onus also falls on tech giants whose services are being used to target victims. Google already offers safeguards to shield its users, and it is now looking to expand its safeguards with a new centralized platform.

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So far, its efforts have been pretty successful

The tech giant's Cross-Account Protection tool, which was launched earlier this year, "is actively protecting" over 3.2 billion users across websites and apps where they've used their Google account credentials to sign in, but the buck doesn't stop here. The tech giant is partnering with the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) and DNS Research Federation (DNS RF) to form the Global Signal Exchange (GSE), a platform for sharing scam and fraud-abuse data.

Launching on January 1, 2025, GSE essentially aims to provide real-time visibility into the networks behind cybercriminal activity like scams and fraud "by merging as many data sources as possible and making the facilitators of cybercrime more visible," reads GSE's information page of GASA's website.

As a founding member, Google brings experience of combating scams and fraud to the table, while GASA brings its huge network of shareholders that includes the likes of Amazon, Meta, Capital One, ScamAdviser, and more. The DNS RF, on the other hand, contributes via its established data platform with "over 40 million signals." Signals here essentially refers to indicators of suspicious or malicious online activity.

Early pilot success

Source: Google

By joining forces, the three primarily aim to streamline the process of exchanging and sharing said 'signals,' making the process of identifying and disrupting fraudulent actors' schemes across the internet. According to Google, "the goal is to create a user-friendly, efficient solution that operates at an internet-scale, and is accessible to qualifying organizations, with GASA and the DNS Research Federation managing access." Access to signals can't be provided to everyone, considering that they need to be used responsibly and can't fall into the wrong hands, though those given access will be able to share and exchange signals in a secure and controlled environment.

As part of GSE's early pilot tests, Google shared over 100,000 URLs of bad merchants, while gaining over 1 million signals from others part of the test. "We'll start by sharing Google Shopping URLs that we have actioned under our scams policies, and as we gain experience from the pilot, we will look to add data soon from other relevant Google product areas," wrote the tech giant.

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