Will Google's Altruism Hurt Akamai?

Google's new "Project Shield" promises to keep small sites live when under attack from Internet miscreants. But the net result could be a backdoor attack on Akamai Technologies , Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.

The idea is simple: Extend a portion of Google's vast infrastructure to sites serving humanitarian causes. In doing so, "Project Shield" defends them from the disruptive power of distributed denial of service attacks. Akamai promises its customers similar protection via security offerings such as Kona Site Defender.

Should investors in either stock care? Is Google's gesture nothing more than an effort to improve the world, or could it be the beginning of a broader move into the cloud security market? Tim answers these questions and more in the video. Please watch now, and then leave a comment to let us know where you stand.

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The article Will Google's Altruism Hurt Akamai? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Google at the time of publication. Check out Tim's web home and portfolio holdings or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool recommends Google and NVIDIA. The Motley Fool owns shares of Google. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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