Google’s mapping cars, which photographed locations for the Street View application, “inadvertently” collected something more — personal information that people sent over unencrypted wireless networks. Since 2006, cars collected fragments of data in passing, as Google documented the location of wireless networks in Europe, Canada, and the United States. Information transmitted over password-protected WiFi networks was not at risk. In a post on the official Google blog, Alan Eustace, senior vice president for engineering and research, acknowledged the mistake and said the information will be destroyed. In the meantime, the Street View fleet will stop collecting information about WiFi networks. Link to full story in The New York Times.
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