Minggu, 27 Mei 2012

Google Snoop View: Search engine giant 'knew' its software could steal emails, pictures and text messages from millions of people with its Street View cars

Google Snoop View: Search engine giant 'knew' its software could steal emails, pictures and text messages from millions of people with its Street View cars

  • Engineer who designed software said a privacy lawyer should be consulted
  • Calls for police and Information Commissioner to investigate new evidence

By Emily Allen

PUBLISHED: 06:50 EST, 27 May 2012 | UPDATED: 10:02 EST, 27 May 2012


Google, pictured street-mapping in Bristol, has always claimed that it didn't know its software would collect the private information

Google, pictured street-mapping in Bristol, has always claimed that it didn't know its software would collect the private information

Google knew software for its Street View fleet could secretly collect personal data including emails, pictures and text messages from unprotected wi-fi networks, it has been claimed.

Documents seen by America’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) apparently show an engineer created the snooping technology called gstumbler which could capture data from inside residents’ homes as teams toured the country.

One particular document shows that the engineer flagged up privacy implications and sa id a privacy lawyer should be consulted before the software was installed.

The bank of personal data collected could have been used by Google to develop new products.

It is no secret that the firm wants to continue tailoring information it gives internet users so it is relevant to their finances, interests, relationships and buying habits.

However, in a statement today the technology giant said it 'did not want or intend to use this payload data'.

It has previously said that the data harvesting was a 'mistake.'

The FCC compiled a report into the case which took 17 months to compile and emerged earlier this month.

It details how between 2007 and 2010, Google Street View cars tapped into the browsing histories, text messages and personal emails of people on unsecured WiFi networks.

The engineer who created the software is reported to be Marius Milner, a 41-year-old British software engineer based i n California.

Cambridge-educated Mr Milner, from Hove, East Sussex, who has pleaded the fifth amendment which protects witnesses from incriminating themselves, said that this information would 'be analysed offline for use in other initiatives' in the original proposal, as well as told several other Google employees of the data collection capabilities of the program, according to the report.

'We are logging user traffic along with sufficient data to precisely triangulate their position at a given time, along with information about what they were doing,' the engineer wrote.

In a statement to MailOnline today the firm said: 'We have always been clear that the leaders of this project did not want or intend to use this payload data.

'Indeed Google never used it in any of our products or services. Both the Department of Justice and the FCC have looked into this closely - including reviewing the internal correspondence - and both found no violation of law.'

Google Street View swivels around Parliament Square looking towards Big Ben. The bank of personal data collected could have been used by Google to develop new products

Google Street View swivels around Parliament Square looking towards Big Ben. The bank of personal data collected could have been used by Google to develop new products

It is thought that a quarter of computer users in Britain don’t have passwords on their networks and could have had their privacy invaded.

Robert Halfon, the Tory MP who has campaigned to highlight the data breach, told the Sunday Times: ‘This new evidence is quite astonishing.’

In Britain, the Information Commissioner said in 2010 that any data gathered was gathered ‘inadvertently’ and the company escaped any punishment and vo wed to improve its policies.

However, the ICO this week said it would examine the new evidence and there are calls for the police to investigate.

Earlier this month Google was fined £15,000 by the FCC after it found the company ¿wilfully and repeatedly¿ violated orders to hand over information it requested while investigating Street View.

Earlier this month Google was fined £15,000 by the FCC after it found the company 'wilfully and repeatedly' violated orders to hand over information it requested while investigating Street View

Google was found to have collected similar data from users in other European countries including France and Germany.

In Germany it was forced to stop filming for Street View due to privacy concerns, and in France it  was fined £87,000 by the privacy regulator CNIL.

Earlier this month Google was fined £15,000 by the FCC after it found the company ‘wilfully and repeatedly’ vio lated orders to hand over information it requested while investigating Street View.

Street View gives users a 360-degree view of roads and is filmed by the now notorious Google cars which have special cameras fitted on to the roof.

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

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There is a definite cover-up by our Information Commissioner, because it is inconceivable that he could believe that the data STEALING was 'inadvertent' and not deliberate, as the software was written by a google employee for that express purpose, and it didn't fool other countries' regulators, so either our IC is grossly incompetent, in which case he should be fired, or far more likely, it's because steve hilton's wife rachel works for google as an executive, thereby making matters worse, involving camoron too. This is another scandal that should blow up in camoron's face, I wish some intrepid reporter would expose this corruption with facts that can be used in court.

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"Street View" a burglars delight.....sit at home, pop in a well to do post code area....'Street View' the houses to see what's on view in windows, what vehicles are sat in the driveways, then quietly slip on down there later on at night and 'grab what you've viewed'.....A friend (who had never actually seen her own property on Street VIew) was horrifed when I commented on her nice ornaments, her new long-case very expensive clock, and her new Mercedes which was parked in her driveway....I also pointed out that her neighbour was a bit silly to leave all those ladders on the roof of his van without having them locked on....(his van was clearly on show with all it's ladders.) I even 'focused in' and told her what was on the dash in his van....street directory, etc etc....If there is one thing that should be banned straight away, it's Googles 'Street View', a knowledgeable friend has said that they use it to check if income tax returns match your home and lifestyle.....

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Google is a greedy and disgraceful company. Boycott it by choosing something else as your search engine. You don't *have* to use it! (Same goes for Facebook!)

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- So How Much Did Google Pay Blair Browns Government for the Right to Travel the U.K. Capturing video / photo Data information about Peoples Homes, etc'.......???????

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This is the same company which penalises small businesses for breaking its 'rules' on Google Places (not telling you what rules you've broken). Acts all high and mighty and then proceeds to intercept other peoples' wifi information, unprotected or not. A very powerful tool but you wonder whose hands it's in.

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Who has an unsecured network? Idiots, that's who! Should be an offence not to secure your network.

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This is the reason that I have deleted all links to Google from my computer and reformatted my harddrive. They are thieves pure and simple, and dangerous thieves at that. No more Google for me ever.

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Google has databanks larger than all the govt's intelligence organs. Just unbelievable.

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More sigh for the technologically incompetent, sniffed (not stolen) data would have been sent from unencrypted WiFis, ANYONE can sniff this - not just google and their 'magical privacy infringement cars'. Google didn't do anything terrible, just another example of users being users. Now go back to facebook and poke people while the real internet users play.

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£15,000 ? £87,000 ? These are loose change fines for Google. if you want to make Google hurt and think twice, you'll have to hit them with fines in the £500,000,000 bracket. This is an immensely wealthy company.

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