A leaked internal Google database, obtained by 404 Media and reported by Business Insider, exposed thousands of privacy-related incidents between 2013 and 2018. These incidents, flagged internally by Google employees, involved various issues, including:
Google claims all incidents have been addressed and resolved, with any compromised private information deleted. However, the leak raises significant questions about the company's data security protocols and the extent to which such incidents were properly handled or publicly disclosed.
Google stated that some flagged items were not actual incidents, but internal security simulations or false alarms. Others involved third-party issues. The company highlighted its implementation of hundreds of new security and privacy protections in the past six years, including policy updates to YouTube's data collection practices regarding children's videos.
The leak follows a previous incident involving the release of 2,500 documents related to Google's search ranking algorithm, further impacting public trust in the company's transparency and reliability.
While the previous leak primarily affected SEO experts and website owners, this leak directly impacts the public's perception of Google's handling of user data and privacy. It underscores the importance of robust data protection measures and highlights the potential consequences of internal data leaks.