Google to enlist NSA to help it ward off cyberattacks

Thursday, February 4, 2010; A01

The world's largest Internet search company and the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity.

Under an agreement that is still being finalized, the National Security Agency would help Google analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the matter. The objective is to better defend Google -- and its users -- from future attack.

Source: [washingtonpost.com...]

[edited by: tedster at 2:05 pm (utc) on Feb. 4, 2010]
[edit reason] spliced from another location [/edit]

Not sure why this was re-moved FROM the more well-read forum....

Either way, another "prediction" comes true...

Geez, wonder where this is all leading to?

Sooner or later, someone's going to realize there is an AGENDA to all these changes, won't they?

<snip>

[edited by: goodroi at 2:26 pm (utc) on Feb. 4, 2010]
[edit reason] Please no off-topic comments [/edit]

This is not something new. Search for 'NSA [US National Security Agency] administrative processing file for FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request for records on Google and contracts With Google' and you will see that Google has previous business contracts with the NSA.

This is not something new.

It's a qualitative difference.
Much as NSA having access to all phone records wasn't anything new.
The govt NOT needing warrants and having the ability to phone tap at will, WAS.

Especially when 'good ole' Gorg was placating the minions by publicly arguing their "animosity"
at allowing Gorg to become a government/spying resource.

So much for that idea, eh?

Certainly the collaboration is fraught with privacy challenges. HOWEVER, if there are state sponsored "Advanced Persistent Threats" actively working to compromise our systems then this does become a national defense issue and it does need the resources of something like the NSA to help defend against these attacks.

Without a robust cyber defense, we could end up in a situation where a hostile nation shuts down our entire information infrastructure and/or makes off with all our intellectual property.

world's largest internet surveillance organization

and

the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity.

you know the NSA would loveeeeee to start going thru all of googles massive data stores.

This is a smart move but as others have said, once in NSA might just decide to peek around :)

As good as Google is, NSA I believe is a a few notches above, and if they can't safeguard American IP and interests no one can.

Google gets attacked ONCE and is really taking HUGE leaps in all directions that have to do with preventing hacks and attacks...and heading straight for the NSA.

Did they think they are impregnable? Do they think they can EVER be impregnable?

Google gets attacked ONCE ....

Talking of taking a HUGE leap. Google gets hack attempts all the time. It is just that this one was of a magnitude never before seen by Google nor the non-government, non-military industrial complex in general. It had all the hallmarks of an extremely organized and highly sophisticated attack (e.g. state sponsored).

If you are going to be hacked by some of the best, you had better get some of the best to help secure your systems.

"They" (we?) will have to sift through quite a few of "us" (them?) before knowing whom to call "hackers"

Talking of taking a HUGE leap. Google gets hack attempts all the time

ok poor wording, replace attack with compromised.

Google gets attacked ONCE and is really taking HUGE leaps in all directions that have to do with preventing hacks and attacks...and heading straight for the NSA.

Did they think they are impregnable? Do they think they can EVER be impregnable?

As others told you, this is different from a script kiddie trying to impress his p*mpled 14 year old girlfriend. This is an a world power attacking Google and whoever uses Google (think of US diplomats, defense contractors, nuclear engineers and god knows who using google to search, send emails, visiting sites that use google analytics, maps etc. etc)

Let NSA spar with the Chinese, my money is on NSA by a wide margin. We shouldn't just stop them, maybe we need to make it expensive for them to try it again.

I thought Google were the software experts. Can't they use their super-genius brain pool to write some really cool new code that intelligently searches a corporate network and sniffs out any sign of a security breach, etc. and then organizes and reports that information? Then use that code to make their own corporate 'network' more secure. Then... make it free and put a bunch of companies out of business.
Isn't this what they do?
Instead, they need to get the NSA involved?

i also don't get it. and i dislike the tone some of our fellows adopt here. sounds like brainwashed cold war wording all over again.

The world's largest Internet search company and the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity.

what does that mean to any sane recipient who is immune to this kind of ugly national propaganda speech? that this in itself can be even a bigger cyber-threat for all of us than the one they are fighting against. heavy privacy violations coming up, data sniffing all over the place. again all in the name of "national" security.

what does that mean to any sane recipient who is immune to this kind of ugly national propaganda speech? that this in itself can be even a bigger cyber-threat for all of us than the one they are fighting against. heavy privacy violations coming up, data sniffing all over the place. again all in the name of "national" security.

I was just reading by and it was hard to believe for me that it needs 13 responses on a topic like this to have a comment facing the cold truth.
Besides all that conspiracy stuff, it was always a method to increase power by using "threats" like "security issues" for aplying new laws, collaborations etc.
I do not doubt that google is able to deal with hacks- no matter how hard/bad/good they might be.

In fact: Google and NSA will have great benefits out of that- DATA is the Key in our 2.0 world.

I was just reading by and it was hard to believe for me that it needs 13 responses on a topic like this to have a comment facing the cold truth.

I can't believe that there have only been 13 comments. Interesting...

I can't believe that there have only been 13 comments. Interesting...

Not too surprising really. Many here get a good bit of income from Google and own Google stock. Imagine the uproar though had this occurred during the previous administration. What difference a year makes.

Google Teams with NSA

Surprising? Not really. It's called synergy.