Archive for the ‘data security’ tag
Privacy and Google: Not what you might expect
Google has revolutionized the way we access information by providing world wide knowledge and information at our fingerprints- all for free. However, there is a hidden cost of accessing this information: your privacy. Unbeknownst to many Google users, Google maintains a log of every search with IP addresses and other information that can be used to uniquely identify the user. Furthermore, Google keeps this data from 9 to 18 months before ‘anonomyzing it‘, or getting rid of data that can be used to trace searches back to individuals.
The contents of Google searches are often intensely private – people often search for information they otherwise are too ashamed of talking about with others. A search done out of curiosity could easily be misconstrued by another person. Additionally, Google’s products have the potential of capturing much more than our search queries – including email, health records, phone calls, text messages, and even your physical location. The potential for other party’s to get this information is concerning. For example, U.S. Department of Justice has subpoenaed this data in the past.
But what’s really concerning is not the potential for abuse, but rather Google’s attitude about data privacy. In a recent interview with CNBC, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place…the reality is that search engines including Google do retain this information for some time...” This attitude is sickening, and is a serious threat to data privacy. Afterall, it is Google who we entrust to protect our personal data against hackers, overzealous government prosecutors, or disgruntled company employees. Furthermore, what happens to this data if Google is acquired by another company or goes out of business?