Government and Google: Two Peas Not in the Same Pod

Connecting all the Dots

Not long ago, the Internet went ablaze with Google having the ability to show direct satellite images of your home. Many people ran to the popular site to get an eye full of this “new” technology that was just released to public. Fast forward months ahead and you can now get a full view of everything that is currently happening on your street. Exciting and extremely scary at the same time.

Google uses street-vans to collect images around the world. These voyeur friendly vehicles cruise your local neighborhoods to get a first hand view of everything that is going on to make your Google mapping experience that much cooler. Let’s try another fast forward. It’s now revealed that the site was also using these vans to collect information via wifi. The safe and encrypted network that all your systems are running on.

Google recently addressed issues concerning the safety of their networks when it was found that Chinese computers hacked into their systems. If Google’s system can be easily infiltrated, just what information could hackers actually have access to?

Fox News brings up these questions and more in their recent online piece Is National Security Behind Google’s Wifi Spying?. The outrage of many political leaders and the slow response of the national government is all questioned throughout the article. What does this mean for the future of the Internet? Many people are all for a safer America, but at what cost? If the offices at Google, a World Wide Wonder, can easily be hacked into, how safe is the free wifi connection on your iPhone?

The government has longed wanted to have more control over the Internet dating all the way back to the Bush Administration. According to an recent investigation by The Washington Post, summed up in a series of articles titled Top Secret America, many Google employees have access to  and secret clearances with the government. The power of the government seems to be steadily increasing as they make us feel more safe and free by securing our borders and pushing through our computers’ back door.  One can only imagine the force that can be drawn when you combine the intelligence of Google and the power of the federal government. Just sayin’.