Google Collected Public Wi-Fi Data . . . By Mistake Google has admitted to mistakenly collecting data sent over unsecured Wi-Fi networks using its Street View cars. Google photographs homes from public streets, using a fleet of company cars. Google said it was trying to gather information about the location, strength, and configuration of Wi-Fi networks so it could improve the accuracy of location-based services such as Google Maps and driving directions.

However, in the process, the cars were also collecting snippets of emails and other Internet activity from wireless networks in the homes, provided they had not been secured by passwords. Google blamed this on a programming error, temporarily halted the Street View data collection, and announced it would stop collecting all Wi-Fi data.53 Do you believe this was a mistake by Google?

If home users do not protect their wireless networks, what is to stop a neighbor from collecting the same information? Who is really at fault here?