SAGE-AU tells off Conroy over Street View claims

Peak technology group SAGE-AU has chastised communications minister Stephen Conroy for his comments on the Google Street View privacy controversy, accusing the politician of fear-mongering.

Conroy’s statements regarding Google’s admission of collecting fragments of Wi-Fi packet data via its Street View cars show a misunderstanding of the nature of secure internet communications, SAGE-AU said.

Conroy has alleged that Google could have acquired people’s internet banking details, SAGE-AU spokesperson Iain Robertson said – a claim which is misinformation verging on fear-mongering.

“While it is clear Google’s Street View cars collected more data than necessary – a practice not condoned by SAGE-AU – Internet banking data is safe from collection due to the nature of the communications from web browsers to Internet banking servers.”