US Edition 
Google Street View engineer told senior manager about Wifi interception
A Google engineer who wrote software to intercept and store data from home and business WiFi networks using the firm's fleet of Street View cars disclosed the plan to colleagues who did nothing to stop him, according to a US government investigation.
Regulators said the unnamed engineer told others including at least one senior manager about the software, which prompted a privacy outcry and investigations around the world when it was discovered in 2010.
"Engineer Doe intended to collect, store and review payload data for possible use in other Google projects," the Federal Communications Commission said.
"Engineer Doe specifically told two engineers working on the project, including a senior manager, about collecting payload data."
When the scandal emerged, Google initially denied it had intercepted "payload" data. Once it was proved wrong it denied that senior managers had any knowledge of the software, described as the "single biggest breach of privacy in history" by Australian regulators.
The firm was fined $25,000 this month for obstructing the FCC's investigation by refusing to identify Street View staff or produce relevant emails, but was found not to have breached US law.
The report, published in full by Google after the FCC released a version with large sections of criticism blacked-out, reveals apparently serious deficiencies in the way the firm developed software. Street View cars, which travel the world taking 360-degree photographs of public roads for Google Maps, began intercepting data from unsecured Wifi networks, including emails and passwords, without any internal privacy oversight.
In 2006, Engineer Doe sent the entire Street View team a document describing how his software would collect such sensitive data, the investigation found. Colleague either did not read it, did not notice the section about WiFi data, or did not remeber it. One senior manager gave the document "pre-approval".
Google, which denies impeding the FCC's investigation, said it "wanted to put the matter behind us". The scandal prompted an overhaul of privacy practices at the firm, including training for engineers and stricter oversight of new software.
"While we disagree with some of the statements made in the document, we agree with the FCC's conclusion that we did not break the law," a spokesman said.
Britain's Information Commissioner mounted its own investigation last year, ending in a series of undertaking by Google to improve its privacy practices.