Google's think tank has become its own spin-off called Jigsaw

Google parent company Alphabet is spinning off what used to be its "Ideas" think-tank division into a new subsidiary called Jigsaw.

"The team’s mission is to use technology to tackle the toughest geopolitical challenges, from countering violent extremism to thwarting online censorship to mitigating the threats associated with digital attacks," Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt writes in a blog post. 

Here's the new logo:

Jigsaw

Jared Cohen, who previously led Ideas for the five years of its existence, will head up Jigsaw. Some current projects include: 

"Project Shield, which harnesses Google’s computing infrastructure to protect independent voices from DDoS attacks; contributions to open-source efforts like uProxy, which lets people share access to the free and open internet; and Password Alert, which helps protect against phishing."

The division will also focus on finding ways to use technology to counter big-picture issues like police brutality, human trafficking, money laundering, organized crime, and terrorism. 

For example, the group has already collaborates on a "Digital Attack Map" which shows, in real-time, the parts of the world generating and being affected by digital attacks:

Digital Attack Map

Read the whole Medium post here.