This tool lets companies Google their systems for hackers

A new security tool has been developed that uses the search engine model, allowing companies to see if their systems have been hijacked by miscreants in order to stop the damage in time.

The tool, called Backstory, is a global security telemetry platform, developed by Chronicle, a spin-off of X - the moonshot factory owned by Google's parent Alphabet. It uses Google's internal security tools.

Backstory is a cloud service where companies can privately upload, store, and analyse their internal security telemetry to detect and investigate potential cyber threats, Chronicle notes in its Medium post.

As Cnet reports, Backstory stores huge amounts of information provided by the Chronicle's customers. This information is a record of all that goes on company networks, including data such as which websites given computer connects to, whether it is a legit website or one running malware.

The system then compares the network activity against a continuous stream of threat intelligence signals, from a variety of sources, to detect potential threats instantly. Chronicle says the data of companies remains private and is not scanned by anyone else for any other purpose.