Google has launched a joint effort with the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or FS-ISAC, that will combine the search giant’s threat detection capabilities with FS-ISAC’s network and intelligence sharing to prevent fraud within the financial sector. The program is dubbed the Financial Services branch of Google’s Priority Flagger Program. The collaboration with Google “accelerates the speed with which FS-ISAC members can identify and mitigate evolving fraud threats, increasing the security of institutions and the communities they serve,” said Teresa Walsh, FS-ISAC’s chief intelligence officer. While anyone can flag content on Google platforms flags from Priority Flaggers are prioritized for review by content moderators due to their high degree of trust and expertise. Google’s Priority Flagger program provides tools to eligible organizations like government agencies and non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, to quickly resolve with Google any violations of the platform’s policies, such as ads that attempt to defraud bank customers by imitating that customer’s bank and misusing its branding. Google considers priority flaggers to be particularly effective at reporting content that violates Google’s Community Guidelines or policies. The program gives participants dedicated channels to inform Google of potential violations that will be reviewed at a priority. Content reported by Priority Flaggers is not automatically removed. The same standards apply for all flags; the difference is the prioritization of the review process. The goal of the Financial Services Priority Flagger Program is to accelerate fraud prevention and detection specifically for the financial sector, according to Google and FS-ISAC. Google’s Priority Flagger Program generally streamlines the process of identifying, reporting and mitigating fraud threats related to Google platforms — specifically, Google Workspace and Google Ads. This collaboration builds on “years of collaboration” between the organizations, according to Amanda Storey, senior director of trust and safety at Google. It is “the kind of concrete cross-sector effort that meaningfully helps financial institutions protect their customers and employees,” she said. As part of this financial services-specific initiative, FS-ISAC will operate a dedicated channel for its members. Through this channel, members can report fraud and other malicious activity that leverages Google Workspace or Google Ads. The program initially launched with a pilot group of FS-ISAC member institutions. In the first 10 days of the pilot, FS-ISAC flagged 21 accounts, which allowed Google to identify and take action on 288 abusive accounts connected to the original ones, according to the press release. The program is now expanding to include all FS-ISAC member firms, providing access to reporting mechanisms, resources and direct support from experts. FS-ISAC’s new program is part of Google’s participation in the consortium’s Critical Providers Program. The Critical Providers Program is an official conduit for nonfinancial organizations that provide network infrastructure and services to share timely and industry-specific security information. Google Cloud was the first major cloud provider to join this program. Google’s new partnership with FS-ISAC reflects the significant and persistent challenge of fraudulent advertisements published through the Google Ads platform. The issue not only impacts consumers but also poses a substantial financial threat to legitimate businesses.