[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 Googles 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 companys
>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, Blumenthals 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.
>
>
>
>Blumenthals letter seeks and asks also:
>
>
>
>·For copies of the companys 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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