Google Earth uncovers secret UK nuke base – is technology out of hand?
The Google Earth project has been the subject of much controversy due to the nature of what it can reveal. Countries such as India and South Korea have expressed concerns over the project. It seems that those concerns were warranted as a UK tabloid newspaper recently used Google Earth to reveal a top-secret British nuclear base.
Google Earth is a powerful application that can shows satellite images of almost anywhere in the world. The application compiles images from various sources and can be accessed by just about anyone. One of the concerns raised by the public has been that anyone can zoom in on a private property and get an understanding of the layout.
Various governments have also expressed concern over the availability of sensitive information that could provide tactical data to terrorists. The latest controversy surrounding Google Earth revolves around the accidental exposure of a top-secret British nuclear base.
The facility is said to be located in Faslane on the River Clyde in Scotland. This nuclear base was previously blurred out by the request of the British Government. However, with the latest update provided via Google Earth, many of the blurred out locations were accidentally revealed. The story was initially broken by the UK’s Sun newspaper, and the Google Map can be seen here.
Some of the other locations revealed are MI6’s London offices, Britain’s nuclear crisis HQ and the SAS training facility. Apparently the UK Government is worried that terrorists could potentially launch missile attacks to those target areas with the exact coordinates readily available on the Internet.
John Hanke, director of Google Earth and Google Maps has in the past argued that terrorists will attack with or without Google’s help. This is certainly true, but the question still remains – could Google Earth make things easier for terrorists? Technology is like Pandora’s box, once it is opened there is no going back. I suppose the only thing we can do is to react and improve security to ensure that existing data becomes useless.
Update 8 March 2009: To clarify, the issue at hand is the location of buildings within the facility, not the location of the facility.
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March 8th, 2009
Oooh… like that huge bottle-green and cream building with all the satellite dishes on top was invisible to the tens of thousands of commuters who pass by it on the railroad every day.
Everybody knows where these things are anyway. The newspapers are just having a slow day, so let’s take another whack at technology/Google/the Internet.
March 8th, 2009
Where does Google Earth have “exact” coordinates?
I am a geocacher and belive me, if you trust google earths “exact” coordinates you are lost.
You can even see how your marked position is jumping all over the place (in a circle of 1/2 km, so I guess its not a coincidence)
March 8th, 2009
Wait a minute … If I’m a terrorist then won’t I just look for blurred out areas in Google Maps?
March 8th, 2009
Much ado about nothing.
Silly Euro media flailing about anything to hate on Google again.
March 8th, 2009
What a load of crap. We have MUCH more to fear from governments of the world and other large official organisations than from any terrorist group. And they can afford to put their own satellites in orbit and obtain whatever information they need through far more nefarious means, and they can fund building of their own nuclear weapons.
I wish to god people would STOP HARPING ON about bloody terrorists! Screw the terrorists, what about credit card fraud? What about my rights to privacy? What about cancer and traffic accidents? These things are far, far more meaningful and serious, and affect everyone. You’ve got more chance of beating shot and killed by a policeman by mistake than you have of being affected by terrorism.
As for geo-coordinates, Google Earth is pretty accurate. What the “geocacher” above has to say is pure twaddle. He’s talking about GPS or mobile cell triangulation for realtime personal positioning, not about the actual coordinates on a map, which is what this is all about. Please get a clue.
March 8th, 2009
This is why buildings have roofs …
March 8th, 2009
I want proof that a service like Google Maps are being used and are useful for planning terrorist attacks. I don’t want suggestions, innuendo or fear mongering. If politicians can’t be open and honest about what they’re talking about, I assume they’re lying to cover something up or are just pretending and saying things but having other motivations in mind.
People raise the spectre of terrorism and suddenly people start acting stupid about their irrational fear, it’s so easy to manipulate people into creeping statism.
March 8th, 2009
“This is certainly true, but the question still remains – could maps make things easier for terrorists? Cartography is like Pandora’s box, once it is opened there is no going back.”
Fully agreed.
March 8th, 2009
What, you mean hi-resolution images from sources other than Google are not available to governments and private individuals? What a load of garbage! Un-blurred images are available from mapping companies world wide.
Funny how the old hysterical cry of “Think of the children” has become “Think of the terrorists”. Add up the number of deaths from terrorism world wide then compare it to deaths from smoking, or traffic accidents, or famine, or even preventable medical errors. But that does not sell newspapers.
March 8th, 2009
Do you really think “terrorists”are such a threat?
If they were,Israel would no longer exist and Palestine would be free of the REAL terrorists,namely Israel !
March 8th, 2009
I suggest we ban or censor telephone- and internet-communication. For many terrorists these tools are a necessity for their terrorist acts.
March 8th, 2009
As said this is a quiet news day story.
Terrorism is hardly a serious consideration, as we learnt during the 30yr+ campaign by Irish republicans here in the UK , ‘terrorists’ do not tend to go for the ‘hardened’ or tough military targets.
They go for the maximum hit & publicity = the easy targets, innocent civilians.
If it’s national security you’re wondering about then I wouldn;t worry too much.
I’m pretty sure that between spies
(in the US, the UK and anywhere else we are friendly with),
satellite surveillance (with vastly superior detecting kit – across all specturms – well beyond mere google maps) and
a much more open military
(foreign ‘powers’ often send personnel to liaise & exchange)
anyone big enough to ever plan any kind of action & who would ‘need’ to know about this sort of stuff already does.
Just like ‘we’ undoubtedly know just about all we would need to know about everyone else’s.
March 9th, 2009
Welcome to a week ago, this has already been covered; http://www.ogleearth.com/2009/03/sun_stupidity_w.html
March 9th, 2009
“Google Earth is a powerful application that can shows satellite images ”
Might wanna fix that sentence ;)
March 9th, 2009
HMNB Clyde is in a valley overlooked on three sides by steep hills. Anyone who wants to see what is going on only has to go for a walk along the ridge on the opposite side of the valley with a half decent pair of binoculars and/or camera. And you will get better resolution than the Google imagery anyway.
If you really want to accurately fix a building in position for the purposes of an attack by a GPS precision guided munition (fanciful to think that the current generation of terrorists have this technology anyway) I would use a handheld GPS and position it by resection from known stations outside the perimeter wire.
The georeferencing of Google imagery is hopeless anyway and is often hundreds of meters out. You only have to look at the mess they have made of the breakwater in Plymouth (UK) to see that.
March 23rd, 2009
If you want more excitement, just look one page left of the image you’ve used and you’ll see the nuclear weapons storage depot and on its west coast the nuclear weapons loading dock. You can see the easternmost edge of its security fencing on the photograph that The Sun published.
March 28th, 2009
Whilst I can understand people not wanting to have their image on there for whatever reason and I do believe that it is actually illegal to be taking images of people without their consent and a signed release form I do think that the blurring gets around that legality, that is as long as it works!!
As for top-secret Nuclear facilities though I didn’t think that was supposed to be possible, not over here anyway?
Aren’t all Nuclear facilities meant to keep all the other sides informed of their where-abouts and what they are doing at all times otherwise the other countries might get a little worried and a little trigger happy?
I know for instance that the Vulcan bomber which is located in Wellesbourne has to inform other countries even when it does a taxi down the runway. This even though the darned thing couldn’t take off even if it wanted to!!!
Mark
September 5th, 2009
Funnily enough, this is actually a naval base… no nuclear facilities here
September 14th, 2009
?????life goes on what happens happens stop moaning n bear it its a fkd up world…and we cant do anything so relax have a coffe easy come easy go!!