Google Says It Inadvertently Collected Personal Data - Bits Blog. On Friday, Google made a stunning admission: for over three years, it has inadvertently collected snippets of private information that people send over unencrypted wireless networks. The admission, made in an official blog post by Alan Eustace, Google’s engineering chief, comes a month after regulators in Europe started asking the search giant pointed questions about Street View, the layer of real-world photographs accessible from Google Maps. Regulators wanted to know what data Google collects as its camera-toting cars methodically troll through cities and neighborhoods, and what Google does with that data. Two weeks ago, Google tried to address the questions and criticism in a blog post. It admitted to collecting certain kinds of data around the world that identify Wi-Fi networks in order to help improve its mapping products.
Mr. Mr. Google temporarily grounded its Street View cars and will stop collecting Wi-Fi network data entirely, Mr. In the blog post, Mr. Google Faces U.S. Inquiry Over Wi-Fi Data Collection. Wi-Fi+passwords+e-mail. Wi-Fi traffic intercepted by Google's Street View cars included passwords and e-mail, according to the French National Commission on Computing and Liberty (CNIL). CNIL launched an investigation last month into Google's recording of traffic carried over unencrypted Wi-Fi networks, and has begun examining the data Google handed over as part of that investigation. Google revealed on May 14 that the fleet of vehicles it operates to compile panoramic images of city streets for its Google Maps site had inadvertently recorded traffic from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. Google's intention was only to record the identity and position of Wi-Fi hotspots in order to power a location service it operates, the company said.
However, the software it used to record that information went much further, intercepting and storing data packets too. To continue reading, register here to become an Insider It's FREE to join "However, we can already state that [...] The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate. French find e-mail passwords in Google Street View da. 21 June 2010Last updated at 11:16 Google could face prosecution in France for gathering sensitive data Google scooped up sensitive data such as passwords when putting together its Street View service, suggests an early look at the information.
The examination was carried out by French data protection agency CNIL as it decides whether to prosecute the search firm for gathering the data. The data was gathered as Google logged wi-fi hotspots to help it develop location-based services. Previously, Google said there was "no harm, no foul" in collecting the data. Deleting data CNIL, like many other data protection agencies worldwide, asked Google to hand over copies of the data it gathered to find out if privacy laws had been breached. CNIL chairman Alex Turk said Google handed the data to the agency on 4 June following an official request and it was now in the process of combing through the reams of information.
Google is handing data over to data protection authorities around the world. Australian Privacy Commisioner obtains privacy undertakings from. Australian Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis has concluded her investigation into Google's collection of unsecured WiFi payload data in Australia using Street View vehicles. "On the information available I am satisfied that any collection of personal information would have breached the Australian Privacy Act. "Collecting personal information in these circumstances is a very serious matter. Australians should reasonably expect that private communications remain private.
"In response to our investigation, Google has provided me with written undertakings that it will: Publish an apology to Australians in Google's official Australian blog (www.google-au.blogspot.com) for its collection of unsecured WiFi 'payload' data. Undertake to conduct a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) on any new Street View data collection activities in Australia that include personal information. Provide a copy of these PIAs to my Office. "I also acknowledge the cooperation offered by Google throughout my investigation. Australia: Google Broke Our Privacy Law. Google's troubles stemming from the Street View incident, where Google collected Wi-Fi data from private, unencrypted networks, are far from over. After an investigation into the incident, Australia's privacy commissioner Karen Curtis said Google broke Australia's privacy law by collecting private Wi-Fi data.
It hardly comes as a surprise; several other countries, including the U.S., are investigating the incident, and in May, Australia’s communications minister Stephen Conroy openly attacked Google, calling its privacy policies “a bit creepy.” "Collecting personal information in these circumstances is a very serious matter.
Australians should reasonably expect that private communications remain private," Curtis said in a statement. Google originally apologized for the incident in a blog post. "We want to reiterate to Australians that this was a mistake for which we are sincerely sorry. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Nikada. Google Wi-Fi data capture cleared by Information Commissioner | Technology. The Information Commissioner has ruled that Google is unlikely to have collected "significant amounts of personal data" with its StreetView mapping cars. The decision was described by privacy campaigners Big Brother Watch as "farcical".
The independent information watchdog has been looking at the data collected by Google to see whether it infringes personal privacy, and has now judged that there is "no evidence as yet that the data captured by Google has caused or could cause any individual detriment". In a statement to the press, the Information Commissioner's Office said: "While Google considered it unlikely that it had collected anything other than fragments of content, we wanted to make our own judgment as to the likelihood that significant personal data had been retained and, if so, the extent of any intrusion. "The information we saw does not include meaningful personal details that could be linked to an identifiable person. "The ICO has really let British people down. Information Commissioner lets Google off the hook. Depressing to write two stories about whitewashes on the same day (the other's here ). Again, those supposedly responsible for stopping breaches of privacy are instead acting as apologists for such breaches.
Earlier, it was the Surveillance Commissioner. Now it's the Information Commissioner. Perhaps the problem lies with these Orwellian names, reversing the meaning of the thing to which they are applied..? The Information Commissioner popped along to see Google about their Wi-Fi data snatching the other day, had a jolly peek at what Google showed them and decided there was A banal statement was issued, effectively letting Google off the hook. This decision is little short of farcical. The Metropolitan police are currently investigating Google over this very issue. The ICO has really let British people down. By Alex Deane {*style:<i> </i>*}
South Korea Police Raid Google Office. Google Street View broke Canada's privacy law with Wi-Fi capture | Technology. Google violated the privacy of thousands of Canadians when it inadvertently collected personal information about them with its Street View mapping cars, the country's privacy commissioner has ruled. In the wake of the finding, influential privacy groups expressed concern that no legal action had yet been taken against the search giant. Google committed a "serious violation of Canadians' privacy rights" when it accidentally intercepted and stored data including emails and, separately, names of people suffering from certain medical conditions, Jennifer Stoddart, the Canadian privacy commissioner said on Tuesday.
The commissioner's investigation showed that confidential information of thousands of Canadian citizens was picked up by Google's Street View cars as they mapped the surrounding environment. Google apologised for the capture in May. Stoddart said Google should tighten up its privacy policy before 1 February, or face further action. Google Gets a Slap on the Wrist in Canada. Last April, Google found itself in hot water after it was discovered that its Google Street View cars had inadvertently gathered personal information from WiFi networks as it canvassed streets. Today, the Canadian government found that the company had breached privacy laws. Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart told the CBC that "Google did capture personal information - and, in some cases, highly sensitive personal information such as complete e-mails. " Stoddart went on to call the incident "a serious violation of Canadiens' privacy rights.
" According to the article, information included email addresses, user names, passwords, names and telephone numbers, addresses and even health details. Google has until February 1 to delete all of the information. A report by Stoddart found that a Google engineer was responsible for the inadvertent collection of personal data when the engineer failed to follow company procedures involving legal review of code. Creating stronger privacy controls inside Google. In May we announced that we had mistakenly collected unencrypted WiFi payload data (information sent over networks) using our Street View cars. We work hard at Google to earn your trust, and we’re acutely aware that we failed badly here.
So we’ve spent the past several months looking at how to strengthen our internal privacy and security practices, as well as talking to external regulators globally about possible improvements to our policies. Here’s a summary of the changes we’re now making.First, people: we have appointed Alma Whitten as our director of privacy across both engineering and product management. Her focus will be to ensure that we build effective privacy controls into our products and internal practices. Alma is an internationally recognized expert in the computer science field of privacy and security. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to update one point in my May blog post. Alma Whitten: "Your informations and privacy are safe on our Google tools and services" Privacy body to re-examine Google.
24 October 2010Last updated at 20:42 Google's Peter Barron: "We're determined to learn the lessons from this mistake" Britain's privacy watchdog is to look again at what personal information internet giant Google gathered from private wi-fi networks. The Information Commissioner's Office had investigated a sample earlier this year after it was revealed that Google had collected personal data during its Street View project. At the time, it said no "significant" personal details were collected. But Google has since admitted that e-mails and passwords were copied. On its official Google blog, senior vice president Alan Eustace wrote that the company was "mortified" to discover, after the initial investigation in May, that personal information had been collected. Privacy watchdogs in numerous countries, including France, Germany and Canada, had also investigated the information.
Enforcement powers However, Google's admission of more detailed data has prompted further action by the ICO. Google stelt interne privacyregels na wifi-fiasco. Nieuws - Google verscherpt zijn focus op privacy en stelt een leidinggevende voor privacyzaken aan. Én het bedrijf geeft toe dat het volledige e-mailberichten heeft onderschept en opgeslagen. Google komt in de nasleep van zijn wifi-verzamelpraktijken met een aantal stappen die dergelijke fouten in de toekomst moeten voorkomen. De zoekgigant verzamelde met Google StreetView-auto's gevoelige data over wifi-netwerken.
En nu blijkt ook dat er volledige e-mailberichten, wachtwoorden en website-adressen zijn onderschept en opgeslagen. Google werd voordat dit bekend werd al flink gegrild door verschillende privacy-organisaties, overheden en verontruste burgers. Onder andere in de VS en Duitsland werden er rechtszaken aangespannen. De bedoeling van Google was om alleen netwerknamen (SSID's) en unieke routernummers (MAC-adressen) van onbeveiligde wifi-netwerken te verzamelen om te gebruiken in hun lokatiesoftware.
Het wifi-vergaren gaat overigens wel door, maar niet meer via Street View-auto's.