Google and LAPD Disagree on Security
November 1, 2011
Call me old fashioned, but I thought sophisticated enterprise cloud services were secure. Guess I was wrong. Looks like more security hassles for Google, this time centering around the city of Los Angeles.
In 2009, the city approved a $7.25 million deal to move its email and productivity infrastructure to Google Apps, yet the move hasn’t been completed yet. The reason? LAPD and other agencies in the city are not happy with Google’s security, particularly in the realm of criminal history data. The number of LA employees expected to move has been downed from 30,000 to 17,000 and the city is demanding a refund for the money it has paid Novell for a GroupWise System, Fire Department Arson Investigators, City Attorney Criminal Branch, and several other city groups concerning criminal history data.
Ars Technia’s article, “Google Apps Hasn’t Met LAPD’s Security Requirements, City Demands Refund,” tells us more:
Both CSC and Google released statements this week. According to Network World, CSC said it has ‘successfully migrated all of the City of Los Angeles’s employees, except those with the City law enforcement agencies, to the new Google Apps cloud computing solution,’ and ‘subsequent to the award of the original contract, the City identified significant new security requirements for the Police Department. CSC and Google worked closely with the City to evaluate and eventually implement the additional data security requirements, which are related to criminal justice services information, and we’re still working together on one final security requirement.’
I think the issue boils down to a a failure to communicate. Now the parties have to determine who said what and when but really meant another thing. Clear? If not, perhaps Google will sue Los Angeles as it did Fish & Wildlife. Clear?
Andrea Hayden,November 1, 2011
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[…] Google and LAPD Disagree on Security Beyond Search: Call me old fashioned, but I thought sophisticated enterprise cloud services were secure. Guess I was wrong. Looks like more security hassles for Google, this time centering around the city of Los Angeles. Google Puts A Limit On Google Maps API, Bad News for Travel? State of Search: Late last week Google announced on the Google Developers Blog they are putting a usage limit on the usage of the Google Maps API for 25.000+ hits per day. […]
Dear Pandia,
More on this LAPD issue appears in my November Enterprise Technology Management column. I don’t do news. I just report what “real” journalists allege is news.
Stephen E Arnold, November 13, 2011