FTC could investigate Google’s security
By John Lister
The Federal Trade Commission has been asked to investigate the security risks involved in Google’s online services such as Gmail and Google Docs. It follows an accidental breach which exposed some documents earlier this month.
The request comes from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a group campaigning for better practice over privacy by online firms. It’s lodged a formal complaint to the FTC which says Google is deceiving users into believing its services are totally secure and even encourages them to store personal and confidential data online.
The complaint cites an incident on March 6 when Google mistakenly removed privacy barriers on an estimated 0.05% (one in every two thousand) documents in its Google Docs service. The blunder did not make the files publicly available, but made them viewable by everyone the creator had ever shared them with through the service, even if they’d later removed this permission.
EPIC says the FTC should launch a full investigation into Google’s security policies, order it to report all breaches to the FTC immediately, and pay a $5 million fine to be spent on research into encryption and other privacy technologies.
The request comes as the FTC is holding a two-day meeting to debate the regulatory problems with online services (known as cloud computing). It’s trying to resolve issues such as exactly who has jurisdiction when online information crosses national borders. It’s also considering whether extra regulation is necessary in cases where single firms hold particularly large amounts of data.
IBM’s Kristin Lovejoy told CNET she’d like to see cloud computing firms follow a similar set of guidelines and standards to those which cover security in the credit card processing industry.
The issue isn’t limited to the United States. The European Union and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development both plan to review privacy and security rules in cloud computing later this year.
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