Watch Out Hackers: Google Called in the Feds
February 4, 2010 - By Justin E. Gehrke
February 4, 2009 – After the Google Vs. China drama from last month, industry pundits speculated as to how Google would react to the confirmed intrusion into Gmail accounts. Would they buy more hardware, hire more network security personnel, or simply upgrade from Internet Explorer 6 to Internet Explorer 7?
The answer is none of the above. In a step that confirms they are no longer kidding around, Google has called in the Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield of Cybersecurity, the National Security Agency (NSA). According to a Reuters report, Google is in negotiations with the NSA to have the latter assist Google in fortifying its overall network security posture. A finalized arrangement, though, would not include any action on the part of the NSA to investigate the actual attack.
The unnamed Reuters source also indicated that Google searches and Gmail would be off-limits, under the terms of the deal. The goal for Google is for both organizations to cooperatively share pertinent information that may help prevent future attacks, without disclosing proprietary information or violating the privacy of Google’s users in the process.
[...] published February 18, 2010, the ongoing investigation, whose team now includes members of the U.S. National Security Agency, has also discerned that the attacks may go as far back as April and that one of the Chinese [...]