Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Google Street View

Marius Milner Identified As WiFi-Sniffing Engineer In Google Street View Case

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:20:09 +0000

Marius Milner has been identified as the engineer that wrote the code for scooping up the private WiFi data from Google Street View cars. The FCC had fined Google $25,000 for grabbing the personal data from unprotected WiFi networks. Before working at Google, Milner worked at Lucent and Avaya. He is also known as the author of NetStumbler, which he calls “the world’s first usable ‘Wardriving. application for Windows… a de facto wireless security tool, used by hundreds of thousands of people.”

When NetStumbler was released, it allowed people to easily find WiFi networks and find information about them including signal strength, SSID, and what channels are being broadcasted on. “Wardrivers” used NetStumbler to map WiFi networks through entire regions.

Security professionals have used NetStumbled to check whether there were any unauthorized WiFi networks at corporations that could be exploited and to check the security of authorized WiFi networks. NetStumbler won an award from PC Magazine/eWeek at NetWorld+Interop as being the most innovative wireless software and service.

Even though Google implied that data was collected inadvertently and portrayed Milner as being a rogue employee. However Milner wrote a report that clearly says that his software would capture “payload data” from unencrypted private WiFi networks including personal information such as emails, passwords, etc.

Milner sent the report to the Street View leaders along with a link to his software. Then they sent the report and link to everyone else on the Street View team. Milner should not be bashed on as he was simply doing his job and provided clear warnings.

Electronic Privacy Information Center Demands Full FCC Report On Google Street View

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 16:50:26 +0000

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has demanded that the FCC release a complete report on their findings during the Google Street View investigation. EPIC has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to see the full 25-page report. A good amount of the version that the FCC released this past Friday was redacted.

To penalize Google, the FCC proposed a $25,000 fine for stonewalling investigators about how Google Street View collected and stored personal data including names, e-mail addresses, text messages, and passwords from unprotected wireless networks of the homes that Google Street View cars drove by. Google said that the data collection was inadvertent and the FCC decided that Google did not violate any wiretapping laws.

Privacy groups claims that the fine on Google was a “slap on the wrist.”

FCC Fines Google $25,000 Over Street View WiFi Issues

Amit Chowdhry — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:39:26 +0000

The Federal Communications Commission has ordered Google to pay a paltry $25,000 for delaying an investigation into reports that the Street View cars were collecting personal information from WiFi networks. Google Street View is a service built into Google Maps and Google Earth that lets you view first-hand what a specific location looks like as captured by a Google Street View car. Sometimes the Street View cars inadvertently captures pedestrians at the worst moments as displayed by our funny Google Street View post. The case against Google started in 2010 when it was discovered that Google Street View cars were collecting personal data such as e-mails and web history from open WiFi networks.

The FCC has cleared Google from doing anything illegal in this case. Google said that the data collection was unintentional and the cars used open WiFi networks to ensure that their GPS coordinates were as accurate as possible. The FCC said that Google did not respond to requests for emails and other information to help with the investigation. The FCC wanted to know which Google employees were involved in collecting the WiFi data.

WATCH: Google Street View Goes Into The White House

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:31:21 +0000

The White House and Google have announced a partnership that will allow people to see a 360-degree tour of The White House. Street View will allow people to see all of the rooms in The White House digitized in ultra high-definition.

“The White House isn’t simply a home to First Families or meeting space for world leaders, it’s also known as ‘The People’s House,’ a place that should be open to everyone,” stated First Lady Michelle Obama. Thousands of people have walked around The White House and have seen the artwork and now you can do that without leaving your home. This project is considered a part of Google Art, which launched in February 2011.

Google Street View Now Has Photos Of Areas Affected By March 11 Earthquake and Tsunami In Japan

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:36:57 +0000

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced this past July that they are planning to digitally archive the areas of Northeastern Japan that was affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Google has driven more than 44,000 kilometers through the affected regions and collected images using 360-degree panoramic imagery to show you how devastating it looks. Google is hoping that this will help scientists gain a better understanding of the damage caused by natural disasters. [Google Blog]

Grand Theft Auto IV Fans Put Together Google Street View Of Liberty City

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:02:48 +0000

Grand Theft Auto 4 fans that interact on GTA4.net had come together and spent 2 months to put together an Google Street View interactive map for Liberty City, a map from the game. If you often use Google Street View and Google Maps, you will know exactly how to use the interactive map on GTA4.net. You can even filter the map based on where you can pick up different weapons, perform stunts, and activities.

One of the map’s creators named Nick revealed that the map required 125GB of disc space, which included 78,494 screenshots, 3,019 equirectangular panoramas and 1,029,000 tiles. The map hit 2.1 million views since they launched it.

“Rockstar had done a great job making Liberty City feel like a real, living, breathing place so the idea of adding a ‘street view’ feature followed on naturally,” said Nick in an interview with Giant Bomb. “At the time, it was just that: a nice idea but not something we could actually do.”

Google then gave developers access to Street View within the Google Maps API. “The scale of it was a bit of a worry, mainly the cost of hosting and serving so many images,” Nick said. “Luckily ‘Tank,’ owner and bill payer for all our GTA fansites [at] gtanet.com, was all for it.”

[GTA4.net Map via Giant Bomb]

Google Starts Mapping The Amazon Rainforest For Street View

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:13:53 +0000

The Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Street View cameras have gone nautical to capture the Amazon rainforest. Google is also using bicycle cameras to capture the rainforest.

Google partnered with the Sustainable Amazon Foundation (FAS) to get the footage of the endangered rainforest. FAS promotes the awareness of the Amazon’s diversity. Google had also hired some of the local indigenous people to pedal Google’s Street View bikes to capture photos.

“Once all the images are uploaded to the internet, we can share the local culture and beauty of the Amazon with anyone, anywhere in the world. Without the vision, creativity and dedication of our partners, this endeavor would not be possible,” stated Google’s head of the Street View project in the Amazon Karin Tuxen-Bettman. It is uncertain how long the Amazon project will taken. Google is also working on charting Antarctica.

[Telegraph UK]

Google, Microsoft & AOL Sued Over Street View Patent

Riley Kennysmith — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 18:16:27 +0000

Transcenic, a company that apparently only the patent office has ever heard of, is suing Google, Microsoft and AOL for patent infringement. ZDNet reports that the patent, granted in 2006, is for a “spacial referenced photographic system with navigation arrangement.” Google Street View, Microsoft Streetside and AOL’s Mapquest all appear to infringe on the patent.

Transcenic filed for the patent in 2000. The company does not, however, appear to have a website or any publicly-visible evidence of using their patent at all.

Google Starts Collecting Street View Images In India

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 28 May 2011 01:53:36 +0000

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has launched the “Street View” project in India on Thursday. Street View collects panoramic images and places them in Google Maps for users to see what buildings look like in real life. In India, Google Street View is starting in Bangalore, Karnataka.

“Street View is designed to comply with all local laws including those related to security and privacy in India,” stated Google India chief Vinay Goel. Goel said that Street View in India would be useful for law enforcement agencies, house-hunters, travelers, and urban development planners.

[AFP]

Microsoft Launches StreetSide To Compete With Google Street View

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:31:51 +0000

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is launching a service that competes with the Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Street View service called Microsoft StreetSide. Microsoft has cars already rolling in Europe taking photos for the service. Cars have been spotted in London and other major European cities will be covered next month. Microsoft StreetSide is already available in 56 U.S. cities and towns.

Google has been accused of collecting personal WiFi data from the homes they took pictures of. Google deleted the WiFi data and allowed householders to opt out of the Street View service before the service went live. About 250,000 Germans said they wanted to have their houses pixelated. Microsoft will be offering the same right to people in Europe.

[BBC]