A Google exec concedes: "We work hard at Google to earn your trust, and we're acutely aware that we failed badly here." Kenneth Corbin reports.
That high-profile gaff, which resulted from a piece of experimental software that was included in the camera-equipped cars Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) dispatched to collect images for its Street View project, provoked a torrent of scrutiny and criticism, with regulators and privacy officials in nations around the world launching investigations.
The search giant also offered new revelations about the extent of the data its Street View vehicles collected, information that came out in the course of the international probes, seven of which Google said have been concluded.
Alan Eustace, Google's senior vice president of product and engineering, said that most of the information that was collected was "fragmentary," but that in some cases the Street View cars intercepted entire emails, passwords and URLs from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks, the investigations revealed.
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