Watchdog: Apple, Google data breaches "worrisome"

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 14 Jun 2010 at 08:48

A US watchdog has described the recent data privacy problems to hit Google and Apple as "worrisome".

Last month, Google's Street View car was revealed to have collected Wi-Fi data as it drove around cities snapping photos.

And last week, a hacking group leaked the email addresses of over 100,000 Apple iPad owners in the US, seemingly to prove a point about security flaws in the way the AT&T network handled such data.

The Google and AT&T incidents are different kinds of intrusions, each worrisome in its own way

"The Google and AT&T incidents are different kinds of intrusions, each worrisome in its own way, and each with a different remedy," wrote Joel Gurin, head of the consumer and governmental affairs bureau at the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in a blog post.

However, Gurin called the iPad case a "classic security breach," saying it could happen - and has happened - to many companies.

Gurin's comments echoed that of McAfee's chief technology officer George Kurtz, who said the iPad breach wasn't really as dangerous at the reports made it out to be, despite an ongoing investigation by the FBI.

"I would guess that this application vulnerability gained so much attention because, after all, it is Apple we are talking about," he wrote on the McAfee security blog. "The hype around Apple products – like the new iPhone and iPad – is amazing. However, the reality is this type of vulnerability isn’t really news and happens all day long."

While Apple's breach may be "classic," Gurin said Google's "behaviour also raises important concerns."

"Whether intentional or not, collecting information sent over Wi-Fi networks clearly infringes on consumer privacy," he said.

Google is facing legal action in the US and Europe - but not the UK, so far - over the data collection.