谷歌母公司Alphabet旗下X實(shí)驗(yàn)室里，神秘的重大項(xiàng)目負(fù)責(zé)人是阿斯特羅·特勒,，專門負(fù)責(zé)研究全球最重要的問(wèn)題,。眼下研究重點(diǎn)是最讓21世紀(jì)公司頭疼的問(wèn)題：如何擋住想盡辦法潛入網(wǎng)絡(luò)盜取敏感信息的黑客們。

為了幫助企業(yè)贏得先機(jī),，特勒的實(shí)驗(yàn)室研發(fā)了一項(xiàng)工具,，可以幫助企業(yè)IT部門處理日漸增多的網(wǎng)絡(luò)安全問(wèn)題。該軟件屬于Chronicle項(xiàng)目,，主要利用機(jī)器學(xué)習(xí)技術(shù)過(guò)濾虛假警報(bào)信息,，技術(shù)人員可以集中處理最嚴(yán)重的問(wèn)題。

如果你認(rèn)為這比起X實(shí)驗(yàn)室旗下其他項(xiàng)目有點(diǎn)小兒科,，那你就錯(cuò)了,。X實(shí)驗(yàn)室八年前成立以來(lái)，已孵化出多項(xiàng)新創(chuàng)意：自動(dòng)駕駛汽車,、可監(jiān)測(cè)血糖水平的隱形眼鏡,，以及向覆蓋地區(qū)提供互聯(lián)網(wǎng)信號(hào)的巨大熱氣球等。

更迅速也更精準(zhǔn)的警報(bào)自動(dòng)過(guò)濾系統(tǒng)還只是解決大問(wèn)題的一小步,，真正的目標(biāo)是搭建特勒稱的“免疫系統(tǒng)”,，屆時(shí)可以幫企業(yè)在黑客實(shí)施攻擊之前就預(yù)測(cè)并做好相應(yīng)防護(hù)。Chronicle的算法可以過(guò)濾企業(yè)的海量數(shù)據(jù)和既有用戶安全工具產(chǎn)生的信息,。一段時(shí)間后,，系統(tǒng)就能準(zhǔn)確判斷何時(shí)該預(yù)警，何時(shí)該忽略,。

“這套系統(tǒng)就像自動(dòng)化的夏洛克·福爾摩斯,，”特勒表示?！耙婚_(kāi)始是年輕版的福爾摩斯,，之后會(huì)逐漸成熟?！?

X項(xiàng)目出現(xiàn)商業(yè)化應(yīng)用的前景后,，一般會(huì)從實(shí)驗(yàn)階段“升級(jí)”為獨(dú)立的公司。今年1月宣布的Chronicle就是第三個(gè)單飛但保留在Alphabet旗下的項(xiàng)目,，不過(guò)對(duì)于未參與測(cè)試服務(wù)的外界公司,，該軟件仍在保密狀態(tài),。

Alphabet首席財(cái)務(wù)官露絲·波拉特明確表明，希望X項(xiàng)目更注重盈利,，不能只為了出風(fēng)頭,。據(jù)研究機(jī)構(gòu)顧能預(yù)計(jì)，全球信息安全市場(chǎng)規(guī)模約為930億美元,，盈利應(yīng)不成問(wèn)題,。此外，信息安全與Alphabet收入多元化,，與微軟和亞馬遜加強(qiáng)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的整體策略相符,。

比爾·庫(kù)格倫擔(dān)任紅杉資本合伙人，也是谷歌前工程經(jīng)理,，他表示網(wǎng)絡(luò)安全領(lǐng)域的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)眾多,，任何一家都很難脫穎而出。他認(rèn)為,，電腦安全領(lǐng)域銷售成功與否取決于多任務(wù)處理情況,。Chronicle若想獲得競(jìng)爭(zhēng)優(yōu)勢(shì)，可以利用Alphabet充沛的資金降低價(jià)格,?！笆忻嫔虾芏喟踩a(chǎn)品都太貴了，”庫(kù)格倫表示,。用戶總是希望有更實(shí)惠的選擇。

特勒相信Chronicle能從競(jìng)爭(zhēng)激烈的市場(chǎng)中殺出一條路,。他表示,，到最后網(wǎng)絡(luò)安全就是個(gè)貓鼠游戲。真正能進(jìn)步的公司會(huì)“扮演好貓的角色,，讓電腦系統(tǒng)更安全,。”畢竟,，誰(shuí)愿意當(dāng)老鼠呢,？（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

本文另一版本將刊載于2018年3月出版的《財(cái)富》雜志，標(biāo)題為《貼近實(shí)用的大項(xiàng)目》

譯者：Pessy

審校：夏林

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Astro Teller, leader of Alphabet’s secretive moonshot factory, X, focuses on solving the planet’s biggest problems. And there’s a big one that every 21st-century business grapples with every day: hackers who relentlessly try to infiltrate computer networks and steal sensitive information.

In an effort to help corporations gain the upper hand, Teller’s skunkworks has created a tool intended to solve a common complaint in IT departments—an overwhelming number of cyber-security alerts. The software, part of a project dubbed Chronicle, uses machine learning to filter out false alarms so that technicians can concentrate on only the most important warnings.

If that sounds pedestrian compared with X’s other moonshots, you wouldn’t be wrong. Since its founding eight years ago, X has incubated some far-out ideas: self-driving cars, contact lenses that measure blood sugar, and giant balloons that beam Internet connections to everyone below.

But faster and more accurate automated alert filtering is a small step toward tackling a far larger challenge—to develop what Teller describes as an “immune system” that could help organizations predict and defend against cyberattacks before they infiltrate a network. Chronicle’s algorithms sift through massive volumes of corporate data along with information generated by the customer’s existing security tools. Over time, the system learns what to flag and what to ignore.

“It’s like automating Sherlock Holmes,” Teller says. “We’re going to get a teenage Sherlock Holmes at some point, and then he’ll get more sophisticated over time.”

When X projects show enough commercial promise, they “graduate” from being mere experiments into independent companies. Chronicle, announced in January, is the third to graduate and remain within Alphabet, although its software remains under wraps for companies not involved in tests of the service.

Ruth Porat, Alphabet’s chief financial officer, has made no secret of the fact that she wants X to tackle projects that have a better chance of turning a profit and don’t just grab headlines. Software for what Gartner estimates is a $93 billion global information security market certainly fits the bill, aligning with a broader Alphabet strategy to diversify its revenue and become a stronger business technology rival to Microsoft and Amazon.

Bill Coughran, a partner at Sequoia Capital and a former Google engineering executive, says the sheer number of security startups makes it challenging for any one company to stand out. A company’s success in selling computer security depends on its software handling many tasks well, he argues. One way for Chronicle to get a leg up in the market would be to use Alphabet’s deep pockets to undercut the competition on price. “There are a number of security products that are too expensive,” Coughran says. Customers are always on the hunt for cheaper options.

Teller believes Chronicle can thrive in a crowded field. In the end, cybersecurity remains a cat-and-mouse game, he says. Those that make real progress will “get computers a lot more involved in doing the cat part.” After all, who wants to be a mouse?

A version of this article appears in the March 2018 issue of Fortune with the headline “A Moonshot for Modest Times.”