• TREND MICRO
  • ABOUT
Search:
  • Latest Posts
  • Categories
    • Android
    • AWS
    • Azure
    • Cloud
    • Compliance
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Cybercrime
    • Encryption
    • Financial Services
    • Government
    • Hacks
    • Healthcare
    • Internet of Everything
    • Malware
    • Microsoft
    • Mobile Security
    • Network
    • Privacy
    • Ransomware
    • Security
    • Social Media
    • Small Business
    • Targeted Attacks
    • Trend Spotlight
    • Virtualization
    • Vulnerabilities
    • Web Security
    • Zero Day Initiative
    • Industry News
  • Our Experts
    • Ed Cabrera
    • Rik Ferguson
    • Elisa Lippincott
    • Mark Nunnikhoven
    • Jon Clay
  • Research
Home   »   Industry News   »   Compliance & Regulations   »   Privacy concerns cause Google Reader to close

Privacy concerns cause Google Reader to close

  • Posted on:March 28, 2013
  • Posted in:Compliance & Regulations, Current News
  • Posted by:
    Trend Micro
0

Many blog enthusiasts were saddened earlier this month when they found out Google was going to completely shut down its Reader service. Initially, The Los Angeles Times said the decision was due to waning usage rates, but a report by AllThingsD shows that the company plans to axe the application because officials did not want to maintain, or likely bolster, the requisite compliance personnel to keep the popular aggregation program in line with emerging privacy mandates.

AllThingsD said the shutdown wasn't just a matter of company culture, Google was trying to become better-oriented so that it did not get into privacy and compliance hot water. The search giant also could not sell Reader, as it is too deeply ingrained with other proprietary applications.

"That means every team needs to have people dedicated to dealing with these compliance and privacy issues – lawyers, policy experts, etc," the website said. "Google didn't even have a product manager or full-time engineer responsible for Reader when it was killed, so the company didn't want to add in the additional infrastructure and staff, the sources said."

The extra data security headaches ultimately were not worth it, as AllThingsD reported there has been plenty of government push to go after Google, including a $7 million settlement with the U.S. Attorneys General after an investigation on the company's street view feature.

What companies can get from this Reader shutdown is that there should be more of an emphasis on data security regarding third-party apps. A recent report by Secunia showed that 86 percent of all vulnerabilities in 2012 were tied to non-Microsoft based applications. This has been a large jump over the past many years, as the number of third party security violations were a mere 57 percent in 2007, according to the report.

Wes Miller, a research analyst with Directions on Microsoft told CSO Online that these apps are pervasive and not as diligent about how they patch their software. There are also platform issues, as not every third party app producer is as steadfast and consistent about patches as a large scale organization might be.

"Third-party updates are more complicated," Stefan Frei, a research director at NSS Labs said, according to the news source. "You might have to reach out to 30 or 40 vendors to get updates."

Moving forward, companies need to be very careful about what third-party apps they use and make sure there is a corresponding data security measure in place .

Security News from SimplySecurity.com by Trend Micro

Related posts:

  1. Google faces EU scorn over stubborn privacy policy
  2. Cloud primed for rapid expansion, security concerns close behind
  3. Cloud primed for rapid expansion, security concerns close behind
  4. Microsoft must address privacy, security concerns of Xbox One

Security Intelligence Blog

  • XLoader Android Spyware and Banking Trojan Distributed via DNS Spoofing
  • XTRAT and DUNIHI Backdoors Bundled with Adwind in Spam Mails
  • Ransomware XIAOBA Repurposed as File Infector and Cryptocurrency Miner

Featured Authors

Ed Cabrera (Chief Cybersecurity Officer)
Ed Cabrera (Chief Cybersecurity Officer)
  • The Role That IT Security Teams Need to Play in Connected Hospitals
Elisa Lippincott (TippingPoint Global Product Marketing)
Elisa Lippincott (TippingPoint Global Product Marketing)
  • TippingPoint Threat Intelligence and Zero-Day Coverage – Week of April 16, 2018
Jon Clay (Global Threat Communications)
Jon Clay (Global Threat Communications)
  • This Week in Security News: Warnings and WannaCry
Mark Nunnikhoven (Vice President, Cloud Research)
Mark Nunnikhoven (Vice President, Cloud Research)
  • Drupal Latest Platform To Be Hit With Critical Vulnerability
Rik Ferguson (VP, Security Research)
Rik Ferguson (VP, Security Research)
  • Today’s Predictions for Tomorrow’s Internet
William
William "Bill" Malik (CISA VP Infrastructure Strategies)
  • GDPR vs Blockchain: Technology vs the Law

Follow Us

Trend Micro in the News

  • The connected workforce: The importance of protecting home and corporate networks
  • NIST Cybersecurity Framework Series Part 5: Recover
  • NIST Cybersecurity Framework Series Part 4: Respond

Trend Micro Blogs

  • Internet Safety for Kids
  • Countermeasures
  • Home and Home Office
  • |
  • For Business
  • |
  • Security Intelligence
  • |
  • About Trend Micro
  • Asia Pacific Region (APAC): Australia / New Zealand, 中国, 日本, 대한민국, 台灣
  • Latin America Region (LAR): Brasil, México
  • North America Region (NABU): United States, Canada
  • Europe, Middle East, & Africa Region (EMEA): France, Deutschland / Österreich / Schweiz, Italia, Россия, España, United Kingdom / Ireland
  • Privacy Statement
  • Legal Policies
  • Copyright © 2017 Trend Micro Incorporated. All rights reserved.