37 States Join Ongoing Google Investigation
Google’s “Street View” Cars Used To Gather Personal Data From Unsecured Wireless Networks?
For the last month, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has been leading an investigation into the improper use of Google’s Street View camera cars to gather personal information from unsecured wireless networks. These Street View cars are supposed to take photos of roads and buildings, and store these photos to digital servers for use in the company’s popular Google Maps online service. But the multi-state investigation, in which Blumenthal has been joined by the attorney generals of 37 other states, has uncovered that these cars were also used to improperly gather private information including e-mails, passwords and other personal data. The investigation follows similar cases in Australia and Germany, and may lead to changes in federal and/or state laws regarding the use of wireless technology to gather information from unprotected wireless networks.
Launched in 2007, Google Maps’ Street View feature uses cars to photograph street layouts and buildings in every direction, converting photos to digital environments that can be navigated virtually from any computer with an Internet connection. But Google did not disclose that these camera cars also detect Wi-Fi access points, in order to help the onboard computers determine their exact locations without the use of satellite-based GPS systems. While connected to these access points, the Street View cars collected approximately 600 gigabytes of data from unsecured wireless networks over a period of three years. According to Google, this gathering of information was accidental, but the attorney generals leading the probe are not so sure.
According to Blumenthal, Google’s responses “continue to generate more questions than they answer. Now the question is how [Google] may have used – and secured – all this private information.” A spokesman for Google said that the company made a mistake in including the code that collected the “payload data” from wireless networks, but that the company does not believe it has broken any laws, and is continuing to work with the “relevant authorities” to address their concerns. Last week, Blumenthal sent a third letter to Google, asking how much testing was done on the Street View software before it was put to use, and suggesting that adequate testing should have revealed the supposed “glitch” responsible for the Street View cars’ collection of personal data. At press time, Google had not issued a response.
The “Street View” feature of Google’s popular online maps service has raised some interesting questions when it comes to issues of privacy. While most Americans seem perfectly contented to have their homes, businesses, cars, and even themselves photographically mapped out in Google’s all-encompassing “mapplication,” residents of other countries, notably the UK, are less anxious to join the Google Maps party.
