But what if Google captured much more than a picture?
What if those special cars that drive around and take photos of your neighborhood also grabbed details of what you're doing online?
"There could have been enough data to steal someone's identity," said Robert Siciliano, a computer privacy and protection expert.
He's reacting to word that Google Street View cars passing by homes also collected information off unsecured residential wireless networks.
"This takes it to a whole other level. I mean, when they're peeking right directly at people's emails and instant messages, information on their hard drive, that's a whole other level of a privacy violation," Siciliano said.
Google says it was only trying to find wi-fi hotspots offered by businesses, but something went wrong.
The company admits this happened all around the world - from Europe to Silicon Valley in California.
Google is speaking to regulators in several countries including the United States about how to dispose of this data, which it claims it never used.
Siciliano says you can protect yourself by making sure your wireless router is protected with a password.
"When you have an unsecured wireless connection, it's just like leaving the front door to your home open and inviting the world to come inside to take a peek," he said.
Google says its Street View cars will stay in park until the problem is fixed.
No comments:
Post a Comment