Saturday, February 6, 2010

Google With NSA: The Search just got bigger..reallyy!!

Google  has allegedly requested help from the National Security Agency in tracking down hackers who attacked its infrastructure. The development has raised concerns among privacy advocates.

The Washington Post broke the story that Google had turned to the NSA on Thursday, citing anonymous sources.

Security experts and privacy advocates have questioned Google's motives. Some have warned that this could constitute another attack on American citizens' civil liberties. Others say the move is part of a scheme by Google to curry favor with the government as it seeks to get more government contracts.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a Freedom of Information Act request and asked for expedited processing with the NSA Thursday. It seeks information on the agency's arrangements with Google on cybersecurity. It is also looking for records regarding the NSA's role in setting security standards for Gmail and other Web-based applications.
Google declined to discuss the issue. "We're not going to comment beyond what we said in our original blog post," spokesperson Jay Nancarrow told TechNewsWorld. "At the time, we said we are working with the relevant U.S. authorities."

What Is Truth?

There is another possible explanation for Google's alleged cozying up to the NSA: that it is looking to get more government contracts. The Internet search giant plans to create a dedicated cloud for government customers in the U.S. It has also launched Google Public Sector, a site with tools and tips for government officials.
Further, Google is penetrating local and state governments. The city of Los Angeles has put all of its 30,000 city workers on Gmail and Google's productivity suite. Other cities in California are also interested, according to reports.
"It's in Google's best interest to get the NSA to investigate the hack, and it's in NSA's best interest to investigate this issue because some of the companies hacked may well be suppliers to NSA," Randy Abrams, director of technical education at ESET, pointed out.
"When the company that makes your computers gets hacked, that raises security concerns, and in terms of global business, when another country gets an unfair advantage, that could be a bit of a national security concern," Abrams told TechNewsWorld.

The Ongoing Threat

Whether the attack came from China, Taiwan or elsewhere is less of an issue than what it points to -- that cyberattackers are constantly targeting American institutions and corporations.
"Sensitive information is stolen daily from both government and private sector networks, undermining confidence in our information systems and in the very information these systems were intended to convey," Dennis Blair, U.S. Director of National Intelligence, told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence earlier this week.
Cyberterrorists and cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and we're fighting a losing battle against them, Blair pointed out.
That terrifies Baker. "Some very sophisticated companies haven't been able to prevent attacks by adversaries," he said. "We're living in a world where we can't be sure we can build adequate security to keep people out of our networks, and that's deeply troubling."

Source : ECT News Network

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