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Google+ Shut Down After Data Breach and Cover-Up are Exposed

posted by martyb on Tuesday October 09 2018, @05:23AM   Printer-friendly
from the how-many-projects-have-they-shuttered? dept.

takyon writes:

Google+ shutting down after users' data is exposed

Google is shutting down much of its social network, Google+, after user data was left exposed. It said a bug in its software meant information that people believed was private had been accessible by third parties. Google said up to 500,000 users had been affected.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the company knew about the issue in March but did not disclose it. The WSJ quoted an internal Google memo that said doing so would draw "immediate regulatory interest".

In a statement, the firm said the issue was not serious enough to inform the public. "Our Privacy and Data Protection Office reviewed this issue, looking at the type of data involved, whether we could accurately identify the users to inform, whether there was any evidence of misuse, and whether there were any actions a developer or user could take in response. None of these thresholds were met here."

Also at The Verge, Engadget, and CNBC.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by stretch611 on Tuesday October 09 2018, @08:25AM (2 children)

    by stretch611 (6199) on Tuesday October 09 2018, @08:25AM (#746332)

    an internal Google memo that said doing so would draw "immediate regulatory interest"

    This is just more proof that the motto of old [time.com] is truly ignored.

    --
    Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Spamalope on Tuesday October 09 2018, @11:12AM (1 child)

    by Spamalope (5233) on Tuesday October 09 2018, @11:12AM (#746372) Homepage

    "whether we could accurately identify the users to inform" - the compromise was complete, and we don't have logs indicating who was compromised or how much was taken, and we're using that as an excuse to not inform the victims at all because they'd have to admit the scope.

    "whether there was any evidence of misuse" - you can't prove criminal activity with the information is directly attributable to this breach (in part because we don't even know what was taken), so we're interpreting that as no harm. *fingers in ears* singing la la la I can't hear you

    "whether there were any actions a developer or user could take in response" The horse already left the barn and we don't have political cover

    "looking at the type of data involved" it wasn't data our direct commercial competitors can use

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @12:58PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 09 2018, @12:58PM (#746414)

      So they don't know who may have been affected by this, but they were able to determine that they would not suffer any competative losses.

      "We're not sure who this hurt but we know it wasn't us!"