[LINK] Fwd: [PRIVACY] Attorney General To Lead Multistate Investigation Of Google's Unauthorized Collection Of Data Broadcast Over WiFi Networks

Jan Whitaker jwhit at janwhitaker.com
Wed Jun 23 13:55:25 AEST 2010


>
>Official press release at - 
><http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?Q=461862&A=3869>http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?Q=461862&A=3869
>
>
>Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced 
>today that his office will lead a multistate 
>investigation into Google Street View cars’ 
>unauthorized collection of personal data from 
>wireless computer networks and that he is 
>seeking additional information about the practice in Connecticut.
>
>
>
>             Blumenthal said he expects a 
> significant number of states to participate in 
> the investigation. More than 30 states 
> participated in a recent conference call regarding our investigation.
>
>
>
>“My office will lead a multistate investigation 
>-- expected to involve a significant number of 
>states -- into Google’s deeply disturbing 
>invasion of personal privacy,” Blumenthal said. 
>“Street View cannot mean Complete View -- 
>invading home and business computer networks and 
>vacuuming up personal information and 
>communications. Consumers have a right and a 
>need to know what personal information -- which 
>could include emails, web browsing and passwords 
>-- Google may have collected, how and why. 
>Google must come clean, explaining how and why 
>it intercepted and saved private information 
>broadcast over personal and business wireless networks.
>
>
>
>“While we hope Google will continue to 
>cooperate, its response so far raises as many 
>questions as it answers. The company must 
>provide a complete and comprehensive explanation 
>of how this unauthorized data collection 
>happened, why the information was kept if 
>collection was inadvertent and what action will prevent a recurrence.
>
>
>
>“Our investigation will consider whether laws 
>may have been broken and whether changes to 
>state and federal statutes may be necessary.”
>
>
>
>Blumenthal also announced that his office has 
>asked Google for additional information and 
>explanation in the wake of the company’s 
>response to his office earlier this month. His questions include:
>
>
>
>·Was data collected by Google ever extracted and if so, when and why;
>
>·How did purportedly unauthorized code -- which 
>captured data broadcast over unencrypted WiFi 
>networks -- become part of a Street View computer program;
>
>·Who inserted what Google calls unauthorized code into the program and why;
>
>·Have there been other instances of engineers 
>writing unauthorized code into Google products 
>to capture consumer data, and if so provide all instances and full details;
>
>·Why did Google save data it says was accidently collected.
>
>
>
>In addition, Blumenthal’s office is awaiting 
>information from Google in response to his 
>original May 27 letter, including Connecticut 
>towns and cities in which it collected 
>unauthorized data, when it did so and how many 
>state networks it pulled information from.
>
>
>
>“Google needs to describe how code that 
>intercepted and collected unencrypted data 
>transmitted over WiFi networks was inserted into 
>its software,” Blumenthal said. “We want to know 
>who did this, why and how and when Google 
>discovered it. Another concern is whether the 
>data was accessed in any way by Google and if so when and why.”
>
>
>
>Blumenthal’s letter seeks and asks also:
>
>
>
>·For copies of the company’s internal procedures 
>and protocols for Street View cars and data collected by them;
>
>·What steps Google has taken to keep 
>unauthorized code out of its products in the future;
>
>·Whether Google conducted internal or external 
>audits, analysis or performance reviews of its 
>Street View program and data collected;
>
>·How and when Google learned that its Street 
>View cars were capturing data sent over unencrypted networks;
>
>·Why Google Street View cars recorded the signal 
>strength and quality of personal and business wireless networks.


Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the 
world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

_ __________________ _



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