Google eavesdropping tool installed on computers without permission
Google eavesdropping tool installed on computers without
permission
Privacy advocates claim always-listening component was
involuntarily activated within Chromium, potentially exposing private
conversations
By Samuel Gibbs
Tuesday 23 June 2015 08.27 EDT Last modified on Tuesday 23 June 2015 09.56
EDT
Privacy campaigners and open source developers are up in
arms over the secret installing of Google software which is capable of
listening in on conversations held in front of a computer.
First spotted by open source developers, the Chromium
browser – the open source basis for Google’s Chrome – began remotely installing
audio-snooping code that was capable of listening to users.
It was designed to support Chrome’s new “OK, Google”
hotword detection – which makes the computer respond when you talk to it – but
was installed, and, some users have claimed, it is activated on computers
without their permission.
“Without consent, Google’s code had downloaded a black
box of code that – according to itself – had turned on the microphone and was
actively listening to your room,” said Rick Falkvinge, the Pirate party
founder, in a blog post. “Which means that your computer had been stealth
configured to send what was being said in your room to somebody else, to a
private company in another country, without your consent or knowledge, an audio
transmission triggered by … an unknown and unverifiable set of conditions.”
The feature is installed by default as part of Google’s
Chrome browser. But open source advocates are up in arms about it also being
installed with the open source variant Chromium, because the listening code is
considered to be “black box”, not part of the open source audit process.
“We don’t know and can’t know what this black box does,”
said Falkvinge.
Opt-in or opt-out
Google responded to complaints via its developer boards.
It said: “While we do download the hotword module on startup, we do not
activate it unless you opt in to hotwording.”
However, reports from developers indicate otherwise.
After having identified Chromium as the culprit,
developer Ofer Zelig said in a blog post: “While I was working I thought ‘I’m
noticing that an LED goes on and off, on the corner of my eyesight [webcam]’.
And after a few times when it just seemed weird, I sat to watch for it and saw
it happening. Every few seconds or so.”
Google also blamed the Linux distribution Debian for
downloading the non-open source component with Chromium automatically, rather
than Google Chrome.
“The key here is that Chromium is not a Google product.
We do not directly distribute it, or make any guarantees with respect to
compliance with various open source policies,” Google developer mgiuca said.
Falkvinge countered Google’s explanations saying: “The
default install will still wiretap your room without your consent, unless you
opt out, and more importantly, know that you need to opt out, which is nowhere
a reasonable requirement.” He says a hardware switch to disable the microphone
and camera built into most computers is needed.
Voice search functions have become an accepted feature of
modern smartphones, but their movement into the home through the smart TV, and
now browser, have caused concerns over the possibility of being listened to
within the home.
While most services require a user to opt in, privacy
advocates have questioned whether their use, which requires sending voice
recordings over the internet to company servers for processing, risks
unintentionally exposing private conversations held within the home.
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