Alphabet’s Google has confirmed plans to invest $9 billion in Virginia by 2026, strengthening the state’s role as a hub for data infrastructure in the US.
The focus will be on AI and cloud computing, positioning Virginia at the forefront of global technological competition.
The plan includes a new Chesterfield County facility and expansion at existing campuses in Loudoun and Prince William counties. These centres are part of the digital backbone that supports cloud services and AI workloads.
Dominion Energy will supply power for the new Chesterfield project, which may take up to seven years before it is fully operational.
The rapid growth of data centres in Virginia has increased concerns about energy demand. Google said it is working with partners on efficiency and power management solutions and funding community development.
Earlier in August, the company announced a $1 billion initiative to provide every college student in Virginia with one year of free access to its AI Pro plan and training opportunities.
Google’s move follows a broader trend in the technology sector. Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta are expected to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on AI-related projects, with much dedicated to new data centres.
Northern Virginia remains the boom’s epicentre, with Loudoun County earning the name’ Data Centre Alley’ because it has concentrated facilities.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Warnings have been issued by Google to some users after detecting a web traffic hijacking campaign that delivered malware through manipulated login portals.
According to the company’s Threat Intelligence Group, attackers compromised network edge devices to modify captive portals, the login pages often seen when joining public Wi-Fi or corporate networks.
Instead of leading to legitimate security updates, the altered portals redirected users to a fake page presenting an ‘Adobe Plugin’ update. The file, once installed, deployed malware known as CANONSTAGER, which enabled the installation of a backdoor called SOGU.SEC.
The software, named AdobePlugins.exe, was signed with a valid GlobalSign certificate linked to Chengdu Nuoxin Times Technology Co, Ltd. Google stated it is tracking multiple malware samples connected to the same certificate.
The company attributed the campaign to a group it tracks as UNC6384, also known by other names including Mustang Panda, Silk Typhoon, and TEMP.Hex.
Google said it first detected the campaign in March 2025 and sent alerts to affected Gmail and Workspace users. The operation reportedly targeted diplomats in Southeast Asia and other entities worldwide, suggesting a potential link to cyber espionage activities.
Google advised users to enable Enhanced Safe Browsing in Chrome, keep devices updated, and use two-step verification for stronger protection.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Google Translate is receiving powerful Gemini AI upgrades that make speaking across languages feel far more natural.
The refreshed live conversation mode intelligently recognises pauses, accents, and background noise, allowing two people to talk without the rigid back-and-forth of older versions. Google says the new system should even work in noisy environments like cafes, a real-world challenge for speech technology.
The update also introduces a practice mode that pushes Translate beyond its traditional role as a utility. Users can set their skill level and goals, then receive personalised listening and speaking exercises designed to build confidence.
The tool is launching in beta for selected language pairs, such as English to Spanish or French, but it signals Google’s ambition to blend translation with education.
By bringing some advanced translation capabilities first seen on Pixel devices into the widely available Translate app, Google makes real-time multilingual communication accessible to everyone.
It’s a practical application of AI that promises to change everyday conversations and how people prepare to learn new languages.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Starting in September 2026, developers in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand must provide legal name, address, email, phone number and possibly government-issued ID for apps to install on certified Android devices.
The requirement will expand globally starting in 2027. While existing Play Store developers are already verified, all sideloaded apps will now require developer verification to target select Android users.
Google is building a separate Android Developer Console for sideloading developers and is offering a lighter-touch, free verification option for student and hobbyist creators to protect innovation while boosting accountability.
The change aims to reduce malware distribution from anonymous developers and repeat offenders, while preserving the openness of Android by allowing sideloading and third-party stores.
Developers can opt into early access programmes beginning October 2025 to provide feedback and prepare for full rollout.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Security researchers from Zscaler’s ThreatLabz team uncovered 77 malicious Android applications on the Google Play Store, collectively downloaded over 19 million times, that distributed the Anatsa banking trojan, TeaBot, and other malware families.
Anatsa, active since at least 2020, has evolved to target over 831 banking, fintech and cryptocurrency apps globally, including platforms in Germany and South Korea. These campaigns now use direct payload installation with encrypted runtime strings and device checks to evade detection.
Deploying as decoy tools, often document readers, the apps triggered a silent download of malicious code after installation. The Trojan automatically gained accessibility permissions to display overlays, capture credentials, log keystrokes, and intercept messages. Additional malware such as Joker, its variant Harly, and adware were also detected.
Following disclosure, Google removed the identified apps from the Play Store. Users are advised to enable Google Play Protect, review app permissions carefully, limit downloads to trusted developers, and consider using antivirus tools to stay protected.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Honor has announced a joint commitment with Google to strengthen its Android platform support. The company now guarantees six years of Android OS and security updates for its upcoming Honor 400 series, aligning with similar practices by Pixel and Samsung devices.
This update period is part of Honor’s wider Alpha Plan, a strategic framework positioning the company as an AI device ecosystem player.
Honor will invest US $10 billion over five years to support this transformation through hardware innovation, software longevity and AI agent integration.
The partnership enables deeper cooperation with Google around Android updates and AI features. Honor already integrates tools like Circle to Search, AI photo expansion and Gemini voice assistants on its Magic series. The extended software support promises longer device lifespans, reduced e-waste and improved user experience.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Following last week’s announcements on AI-driven cybersecurity, Google Cloud has unveiled further tools at its Security Summit 2025 aimed at protecting enterprise AI deployments and boosting efficiency for security teams.
The updates build on prior innovations instead of replacing them, reinforcing Google’s strategy of integrating AI directly into security operations.
Vice President and General Manager Jon Ramsey highlighted the growing importance of agentic approaches as AI agents operate across increasingly complex enterprise environments.
Building on the previous rollout, Google now introduces Model Armor protections, designed to shield AI agents from prompt injections, jailbreaking, and data leakage, enhancing safeguards without interrupting existing workflows.
Additional enhancements include the Alert Investigation agent, which automates event enrichment and analysis while offering actionable recommendations.
By combining Mandiant threat intelligence feeds with Google’s Gemini AI, organisations can now detect and respond to incidents across distributed agent networks more rapidly and efficiently than before.
SecOps Labs and updated SOAR dashboards provide early access to AI-powered threat detection experiments and comprehensive visualisations of security operations.
These tools allow teams to continue scaling agentic AI security, turning previous insights into proactive, enterprise-ready protections for real-world deployments.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Google is urging its workforce to adopt AI in everyday tasks instead of relying solely on traditional methods.
CEO Sundar Pichai has warned that falling behind in AI could risk the company’s competitive edge, especially as rivals like Microsoft, Amazon and Meta push their staff to embrace similar tools.
Early trials inside Google suggest a significant boost in efficiency, with engineers reporting a 10% increase in weekly productivity after adopting AI.
The company has launched a training initiative called AI Savvy Google to accelerate the shift. The programme provides courses, toolkits and hands-on sessions to help employees integrate AI into their workflows.
One of the standout tools is Cider, an AI-powered coding assistant already used by half of the engineers with access to it.
Executives believe AI will soon become an essential part of software engineering. Brian Saluzzo, a senior leader at Google, told staff that internal AI tools will continue to improve and become deeply embedded in coding work.
The company stresses the importance of using AI to support rather than replace workers, with the training programme designed to upskill employees instead of pushing them aside.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Google has released its Password Manager as a standalone app for Android, separating the service from Chrome for easier access. The new app allows users to quickly view and manage saved passwords, passkeys and login details directly from their phone.
The app itself does not introduce new features. It functions mainly as a shortcut to the existing Password Manager already built into Android and Chrome.
For users, there is little practical difference between the app and the integrated option, although some may prefer the clarity of having a dedicated tool instead of navigating through browser settings.
For Google, however, the move brings advantages. By listing Password Manager in the Play Store, the company can compete more visibly with rivals like LastPass and 1Password.
Previously, many users were unaware of the built-in feature since it was hidden within Chrome. The Play Store presence also gives Google a direct way to push updates and raise awareness of the service.
The app arrives with Google’s Material 3 design refresh, giving it a cleaner look that aligns with the rest of Android. Functionality remains unchanged for now, but the shift suggests Google may expand the app in the future.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Google has published new estimates on the environmental footprint of Gemini, claiming a single text prompt uses about five drops of water and 0.24 watt-hours of electricity. The company says this equates to 0.03 grams of carbon dioxide emissions.
According to Google, efficiencies have reduced Gemini’s energy consumption and carbon footprint per text prompt by factors of 33 and 44 over the past year. Chief technologist Ben Gomes said the model now delivers higher-quality responses with a significantly lower footprint.
The company argued that these figures are significantly lower than those suggested in earlier research. However, Shaolei Ren, the author of one of the cited papers, said Google’s comparisons were misleading and incomplete.
Ren noted that Google compared its latest onsite-only water figures against his study’s highest total figures, creating the impression that Gemini was far more efficient. He also said Google omitted indirect water use, such as electricity-related consumption, from its estimates.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech, and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
