• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Google Launches ‘Protect Your Election’ Kit Ahead of French Vote

By
Jeff John Roberts
Jeff John Roberts
Editor, Finance and Crypto
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jeff John Roberts
Jeff John Roberts
Editor, Finance and Crypto
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 21, 2017, 7:00 AM ET

As worries mount about cyberthreats to democracy, Google on Tuesday announced the launch of a free set of tools to help election websites, human rights groups, and other parties defend their computer systems from attacks.

The arrival of the toolkit, known as “Protect Your Election,” comes as France prepares to go to the polls next month, and a week after hackers took down one of the Netherlands’ leading election information sites during that country’s vote last week, according to Google, citing local media.

“Unfortunately, these types of attacks are becoming easier, cheaper, more better organized. With national elections approaching in France, we want to do our part to help,” said a blog post signed by staffers from Google France and from Jigsaw, the policy arm of Google’s (GOOGL) parent company, Alphabet.

The help Google is offering includes free protection from so-called “denial-of-service attacks,” or “DoS,” which flood sites with fake web traffic, causing them to buckle and go offline. Meanwhile, earlier such attacks have reportedly targeted investigative journalists and election monitors in places like Mexico, Ecuador, and Myanmar.

The Protect Your Election kit also offers extra layers of security in the form of a password protection tool and warnings about “phishing attempts“—a common scheme in which hackers use realistic-looking emails to try to make the recipient disclose personal information.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

According to Jigsaw, the process of signing up and implementing the tools are easy, and it doesn’t require a lot of technical knowledge.

“Tech companies can design all the tools they want, but if people don’t know how to use them or they’re not easy, they don’t get used. They only work if they’re used by a lot of people, which creates network effects,” a Jigsaw spokesperson told Fortune in a phone interview.

In the case of the denial-of-service protection tool, Jigsaw is already providing such assistance to certain media sites through an initiative called Project Shield. The project’s most high-profile moment came in September, when Jigsaw defended security reporter Brian Krebs from one of the largest denial-of-service attacks in history.

In Krebs’ case, the perpetrators were allegedly cybercriminals annoyed by the journalist’s reporting of their activities. But denial-of-service-attacks and other forms of computer mischief are also used by government agents that want to interfere with elections or political activism.

If Google’s new initiative is a success, it could blunt the opportunity for cyber sabotage by drawing a wide range of political and public interest websites sites under its protective umbrella.

About the Author
By Jeff John RobertsEditor, Finance and Crypto
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jeff John Roberts is the Finance and Crypto editor at Fortune, overseeing coverage of the blockchain and how technology is changing finance.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

Latest in Tech

Bill Gates speaks onstage at the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum 2025 at The Plaza Hotel on September 24, 2025 in New York City.
AIBill Gates
Bill Gates says AI could be used as a bioterrorism weapon akin to the COVID pandemic if it falls into the wrong hands
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 9, 2026
12 hours ago
shapiro
Big TechMedia
Netflix’s competition isn’t sleep anymore. Its battle against YouTube is like fighting an ‘infinite number of monkeys,’ top strategist says
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 9, 2026
12 hours ago
Bill Gates pictured in New York, May 2025.
SuccessBill Gates
Read Bill Gates’s 2026 annual letter in full
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 9, 2026
12 hours ago
A screen displays the Grok logo while a person holds another phone in front.
AIX
Lawmakers and victims criticize the choice to limit Grok’s AI image generation to paid users as ‘insulting’ and ‘not effective’
By Beatrice NolanJanuary 9, 2026
14 hours ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Andreessen Horowitz’s shiny, new $15 billion reveals where the firm sees the biggest opportunities
By Allie GarfinkleJanuary 9, 2026
15 hours ago
Chinese and U.S. flags wave outside a technology company in Beijing, on April 17, 2025. (Photo: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
‘Salt Typhoon’ hackers accessed email of U.S. congressional committee staff
By Andrew NuscaJanuary 9, 2026
15 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
North America
Bill Gates warns the world is going 'backwards' and gives 5-year deadline before we enter a new Dark Age
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 9, 2026
12 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Diary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with 'zero' work experience because she 'thanked the security guard by name' before the interview
By Emma BurleighJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Workplace Culture
Amazon demands proof of productivity from employees, asking for list of accomplishments
By Jake AngeloJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Crypto
Russia and Iran are increasingly turning to crypto—especially stablecoins—to avoid sanctions, report finds
By Carlos GarciaJanuary 8, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
Google billionaire Larry Page copies the Jeff Bezos playbook, buying a $173 million Miami compound that will save him millions in taxes
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
White House says it's 'reviewing protocols' after Trump seemingly violated federal policy by disclosing jobs data early
By Eva RoytburgJanuary 9, 2026
7 hours ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.