I came across this news a few days ago about a Google Engineer hacked into Google services and spied on teenagers. The ability that Google employees can "hack" into Google's services worried me of what I should keep and delete in my Gmail.
Here is the link of the news.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20100915/cm_atlantic/roguegoogleengineersnoopsonteenssparkingprivacyfuror5038_1
First of all, I'd like to point out that it is a Yahoo employee spent so much effort and time on this news. Coincidence?
ReplyDeleteIn more serious note, I would like to know few things regarding this.
1. Does Google use same security measures against the public and its employees? Was it much easier for Barksdale because he was a Google employee or can anyone hack into Google logs that easily?
2. What consequences will Barksdale face? Is getting fired and getting his 20 bytes of fame end of the story? Is there anything that Google or US Justice department can do?
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ReplyDeleteI'm sure that Google has measures in place that prevent their employees from accessing user data. You have to keep in mind that in such a large company, there will always be a rogue who goes and does what he isn't supposed to. What is then the difference between Barksdale and say an ordinary thief? If a bank gets robbed, its not going to stop you from using their services would it? As Lauren Weinstein points out in the article, "no system is 100% secure".
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