Final google earth security issues
Imagine the entire world at your fingertips. Imagine the power that comes from being able to view just about any location on the globe with the click of a button. Imagine someone watching over your military bases, airports, nuclear establishments or harbors anytime, anywhere? Where does a common man’s need for information end and where does a nation’s security precede an individual’s curiosity? It is very necessary to think on it.
Google Earth has ruffled many a governmental feathers ever since its inception. Several countries, including Australia, China, India, North Korea, Taiwan and USA would like Google Earth to blur down images of what they call sensitive locations. When international boundaries merge in cyberspace, espionage becomes just another cyber crime. Anyone with access to the internet and Google Earth can peek into sensitive installations, gather information regarding military dispersal and pre-empt tactical maneuvers.
The primary concern is that the software in wrong hands would make those critical installations more vulnerable to attack. Terrorists could and do make use of information from Google Earth to plan out their assault on various locations. The latest case in point being the admission of one of the terrorists arrested for a foiled plot to blow up the fuel tanks, pipelines and buildings at the JFK International Airport, New York, that they used Google Earth to get detailed images of the area.
Before lynching Google Earth, it would be better to remember that the images on Google are about as detailed as those from any commercial satellite. Such commercial satellite companies must adhere to laws and restrictions of parent countries. For example, the US ensures that only low resolution pictures of Israel, taken by any of its commercial satellite, are made available. The US government can also make certain areas ‘out of bounds’ for the sake of national security. High resolution images, specially, require a 24 hour delay before release. This delay becomes significant when dealing with military installations as it shields troop movement and available military hardware like the number of aircrafts or submarines or ships from prying eyes.
While Google Earth might be a more popular and commonly used source of sattelite imagery, it is not unique. Many others like DigitalGlobe, EarthSat, GeoEye, Spot Image or ViewGL provide images with higher resolution and more recently updated versions as well. Hence, lets just stop giving Google a bad name and hanging it before that too. If governments really want to protect those sensitive and vulnerable locations, they can be camouflaged to look likes something else. A lot of people would probably love to see the White House looking like a white elephant.
The one thing that goes against all arguments in Google’s self defence is the fact that Google Earth does make is possible for just about anyone to access maps, ariel photographs et al anonymously. Earlier, one couldn’t get that kind of information without a lot of research and mountains of paperwork….. and it would definitely have raised eyebrows if one asked for a map of a naval base or even a commercial port.Category Google earth, use of google earth, google earth security
Tags: Google Earth
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