Google Addresses WiFi Privacy Snafu with Encrypted Search

Google May 21 began adding SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption for its search engine, a direct response to the company's accidental collection of users' personal information in countries all over the world. When users search from the URL https://www.google.com, the SSL creates an encrypted connection between the user's browser and Google to better shield users' search terms and search results pages from being intercepted by a third party, including an errant drive-by from Street View cars roving their neighborhood to capture pictures for Google Maps.

The search engine May 16 admitted that its Street View cars that patrol city streets to record images had unknowingly collected users' payload data from unsecured WiFi networks. This included e-mail, passwords and browsing information.

This resulted in the collection of more than 600 gigabytes of users' data over the last three years. This invasion of privacy is not being countenanced by the European Union or individual countries where Street View collected citizens' data, including the United States, Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the Czech Republic.

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