Data captured by Google Street View includes passwords and emails

By on Jun 19, 2010 at 12:14 PM
Security June 19, 2010

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Google confirmed last month that while snapping photos of the local flavor, the search giant was also inadvertently capturing packets of data from unsecured routers. Google downplayed the severity of this guffaw by reassuring people that only small, presumably useless, fragments of personal data were collected. Despite Google’s re-assurance, this admission caused a stir amongst privacy groups and prompted several agencies to take a closer look at the data that Google collected. The French National Commission on Computing and Liberty (CNIL) was one such group and the first to officially get its hand on the stored data. CNIL announced the results of its investigation on Friday and revealed that the captured fragments included email passwords and extracted portions of email messages. Bad news for Google as this revelation is the perfect ammunition for groups already upset with Google and its management of a vast treasure trove of personal data.

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  • http://thethemezone.blogspot.com D Mac

    wow, people clearly don’t understand the issue here. Google was searching for public WiFi networks (for Google maps triangulation for non-gps devices) and when doing so saved a copy of info that was being publicly broadcast to everyone in the area. Google didn’t access any info that was not already freely broadcast to the whole neighbourhood and to anyone and everyone driving or walking by.

  • J. Glenn

    Secure you routers!! It’s your own fault for having open WiFi routers. If not Google then the local hood. At least Google is not apt to use the data for wrong. The airways are free and lets keep them that way.

  • seven5suited

    Before we all get the torches out, let’s remember that it was Google themselves who made this public, and handed all of the data in question over to be evaluated. If they wantded to be evil, they could have said nothing. They admit to screwing up; let’s just slap them with penalties and move on. These government officials are just looking to get their names in the paper, and are ignorant of technology anway.

    • MiniMe

      No, not really. The findings were made public by German auditors representing regulatory body. Google had been very quite up until then.

  • Sam Adams

    DROID does data stealing

  • HO

    WOW, how many retards don’t understand that u must keep ur WiFinetworks with password, I usually see that on Mac users (no pun intended, is just my experience), but really, why are Privacy groups or Agency’s not screaming about ppl’s stupidity and instead claiming that Google is at fault???

  • Mr. Rogers

    A lot of fruit stands leave their merchandise out in view and in grabbing distance of potential thieves, but it is only the thieves who take it. This is my analogy of Google.

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