Google to Team Up With NSA on Security

How do you feel about the National Security Agency helping Google assess its recent cyber-attack?

It’s an interesting question in light of comments made last week by Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence. Testifying before Congress, Blair said that “malicious cyber activity is occurring on an unprecedented scale with extraordinary sophistication,” and that greater cooperation between government and the private sector was needed for information systems – and their users – to be protected.


On Jan. 12, Google announced that its networks had been hit by a series of attacks beginning in December, and that they originated in China. The wave of intrusions extended to more than 30 other large companies. Some blamed activists loyal to the Chinese government; in any regard, the Gmail accounts of human-rights activists in Europe, China and the United States were compromised.

As The Washington Post reports, neither Google nor the NSA has commented publicly on their new partnership. But The Post quoted anonymous sources as saying the arrangement will allow the organizations to share information without violating Google’s internal policies, or U.S. privacy laws. The sources said the NSA won’t be going through users’ searches or e-mail accounts, and Google won’t be sharing proprietary data.

The Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center has responded with a Freedom of Information Act request for records “in the possession of the National Security Agency regarding the agency's arrangements with Google on cyber security, as well as records regarding the agency's role in setting security standards for Gmail and other Web-based applications,” according to MarketWatch.com. 

Ellen McCarthy, president of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, an organization composed of former intelligence and national security officials, poses this question to The Washington Post: “The critical question is: At what level will the American public be comfortable with Google sharing information with NSA?”


The perennial issue of personal freedom versus protection isn't new, even as it surfaces in the context of new technologies.  But the fact of the matter is that there is a fine line between privacy and security, and unfortunately, some organizations do cross that line.  As the cyber landscape evolves, it’s at once critical to be able to keep up with – or ahead of – threats and protect consumers, but to do so without sacrificing privacy.  It can, however, be done.  As with the investigation of any crime, it’s really a matter of establishing the proper boundaries and adhering to appropriate processes.