Google faces inquiry over data breach 'cover up'

Google faces inquiry over data breach 'cover up'

www.news.com.au

GOOGLE is facing an investigation into claims its Street View cars deliberately collected data from millions of residents and the company covered it up, reports said today.
The tech giant has already admitted to stealing fragments of personal data from unprotected wi-fi networks as the cars photographed streets of the UK, The Daily Mail reports.

(visit the link for the full news article)

So google has admitted to stealing uprotected Wi fi data including photographs, and personal information from residential houses and everyday citizens.

What? Google drives around in their street view car, Hunting for exposed Wi Fi, taking photos of peoples houses, documenting personal adress details.

If you or I stole other peoples personal data we would be put in jail.

This is dispicable. It appears to have been happening all around the world.

Google must be in with TPTB, it is a nice fuzzy way for them to collect the information that they can not normally get, then pass it on.

I can not fathom how deep this really must go, if they can just drive around and steal data!

www.news.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

"Street View cars not only photographed streets but recorded wi-fi network details, as well as "names, addresses, telephone numbers, URLs, passwords, email, text messages, medical records, video and audio files".

And here is what Google said to us Aussies about it:

"we want to reiterate to Australians that this was a mistake for which we are sincerely sorry".

A #ing mistake...yeah right! You don't take photos of nearly every persons house in a country while taking all their data then claim it to be a mistake.

If this isn't the final nail in the coffin regarding Google to be a data mining company, then i don't know what is. What a disgrace!

S&F Mate

www.heraldsun.com.au...

reply to post by magma

Here's what's wrong with this whole supposition when you stop and think about it and btw, the data-capture thing was at least partially intentional but only to discover and map Wifi hotspot ID's for the Location Detection function that even my 1st gen iPod Touch contains. A stranger walking through a city could use the Wifi Network names around him to "detect" his current location. So the theory goes anyway, I never tested it.

Street view is the project they were working on with the car, driving round and taking photos of the streets. I know because they were charged with the same offence in Germany here recently and it got in all the news.

Mapping Wifi hotspots and their locations and names relative to each other is a simple and effective method I guess but here's the catch. It's a car driving around in traffic. Unless it is stopped at a traffic light or stuck in a jam, it is not going to be able to capture much "traffic" from any particular (un-encrypted) wireless hotspot no matter how slowly it drives. Effective range, walls, multiple access point signals. That seems anomalous with the charges in terms of practicality.


ETA2 If it wasn't entirely clear, if you use encryption on the wireless connection itself, they can't get your data.

And maybe in light of the OP's title...Do Know Weevil?

reply to post by magma


Tsk tsk Google. How many time do they have to get caught before they learn their lesson? I mean really this is the second (?) time in 5 years they have been caught stealing data and personal information.

Google first admitted to stealing personal data two years ago, but said that it was a mistake. Regulators discovered that a senior manager was warned about the possibility that Street view may be collecting data it shouldn’t have in 2007. Google did nothing to prevent this.

Wow this is just stupid. "Mistake" my a**! They are data mining for something. I agree they have it in with TPTB for something. Hell for all we know they could be a part of TPTB.

According to the Daily Mail 1 in 4 networks in the UK are unsecured, allowing data to be collected at will. Google claims that any data collected from these networks is inadvertant and will not be used for profit.

"Will not be used for profit"? Then what will it be used for then? For the greater powers? Something isn't right here...

Source

-SAP-

reply to post by SloAnPainful


It does not take away from the fact the data and personal information has been stolen.

They are criminals they are going to be fined something insignificant and get away with it.

Where is my data going and to what use?

We need to be able to stop these corporations trying to exploit us.

Where are our rights?

On behalf of Google (unofficial )

We do not collect emails or passwords or private data.
We collect your IPv4 and IPv6 address and crosslink it to the physical and geographical location through triangulation. All these data will be referred when we have the need "to trace" / know your location for better "service".

Sample scenario:
You visit a "monitored IP address/website", subversive website named ATS. By using IP and network card address from the internet traffic signals, we can match and pinpoint your location exactly to your house for better "service". In our effort for better "services" have already pass the need for mailing address, we just need to monitor the low level traffic signal at ATS.

We now know you by website you visit, network card address, IPs, longitude and latitude. We then can beam you directly from the satellite "the service". Have a nice day.

The G in Google is the same G in masonry ?

reply to post by magma


I hardly think that capturing stuff that is being transmitted through wifi unencrypted is stealing anything. It is just catching what is willfully sent out. You are a little safer using encryption, but even that is not foolproof. If someone is close enough, has plenty of time, and the right tools, any passkey encryption is possible to crack. Best defense is to not use wireless at all. Not using the passkey option, restrict mac addresses allowed to connect etc helps, but it if not foolproof. New ways of hacking and cracking are found all the time.

As my post above, its not the emails, private stuffs that matter, its the mac address.
Once captured until you switch the network card, you are on the list.

Once on the list, the user are profiled based on his mac address.

Originally posted by magma
reply to post by SloAnPainful

 

It does not take away from the fact the data and personal information has been stolen.

They are criminals they are going to be fined something insignificant and get away with it.

Where is my data going and to what use?

We need to be able to stop these corporations trying to exploit us.

Where are our rights?

I agree I think they should pay for what they did.

-SAP-

Originally posted by SloAnPainful

Originally posted by magma
reply to post by SloAnPainful

 

It does not take away from the fact the data and personal information has been stolen.

They are criminals they are going to be fined something insignificant and get away with it.

Where is my data going and to what use?

We need to be able to stop these corporations trying to exploit us.

Where are our rights?

I agree I think they should pay for what they did.

-SAP-

Lol thinking about it, that's hardly a punishment for Google lol.

-SAP-