That Google has access to a huge flow of information about users' lives is nothing new. Especially if we take into account that, unlike other platforms, such as Facebook or WhatsApp, the par excellence browser does not encrypt messages and documents that, every day, we upload to the cloud. Something that not only implies that the technology has easy access to the private information that is stored in the G Suite collaboration tool, of which Gmail, Docs and Drive are among other services, but that it can also be within reach of administrators who control the accounts of a company and the United States government. This is stated by Google former worker Martin Shelton in an article published on the "Freedom of the Press Foundation" portal.
"For now, we should consider when to keep our most confidential data out of G Suite, and instead use other means that offer end-to-end encryption, local storage or keep them in computer. The ex-worker of the Silicon Valley company notes, in turn, that although the encryption of messages on the platform is quite strong, and especially good when it comes to protecting against cyber espionage attacks, it is not opaque enough as so that company workers have access. And, things as they are, does not pretend.
Regarding the objective pursued by the platform with this policy, Shelton points out that it has to do with «spam filtering, malware (computer virus), detection of targeted attacks, spelling correction and to help with the search within the account of Google of a user ». The company also takes advantage of this situation to track violations in its terms of use or those contents that are directly illegal. The fact that the firm has that power does not imply, at least on paper, that it has a human team dedicated to thoroughly reviewing all the contents that are uploaded to the cloud. However, if they wish to do so, they have the powers to do so.
In this regard, Google maintains that it has strong security measures so that nobody without permission to access user data skips the rules. «Google says they provide several protections for their data centers. Employees need an authorized access card and the approval of their manager and the data center director to enter the authorized parts of the building. Closed-circuit television cameras are inside and outside these buildings, recording at all hours of the day, every day of the week, ”says Shelton. However, the company's former employee says that "we don't know much about how many people on Google have access to user data, or how that access is determined."
This protection also does not prevent a government, such as the United States, from accessing the information of G Suite users. In that country, government agencies have the ability to force any national communications provider to disclose information about its users. According to Shelton, requests for this type of information have not stopped growing in recent years. Only in 2018, the U.S. government UU. asked the technology for the data of 124,991 accounts. Requirements to which Google responded affirmatively in 81 percent of the cases.
In the case of companies that work with G Suite, administrators who want to access employee information all they need to do is run Vault, a service that allows them to retrieve a fairly large amount of information: «administrators have the option to keep draft copies of emails, even after the email is deleted from the draft folder »
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