Indian president warns against Google Earth

Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has joined the list of government officials charging that the geographic details provided by Google Earth's satellite imaging program pose a security risk.

"Developing countries, which are already in danger of terrorist attacks, have been singularly chosen," Kalam said.

Kalam, who is also the supreme commander of India's armed forces, made the comment over the weekend while addressing the nation's top police officers at the Vallabhabhai Patel National Police Academy at Hyderabad. Google has an engineering center in Hyderabad and another in Bangalore.

Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Government officials in other countries, including South Korea and the Netherlands, have made similar complaints about the Google Earth application.

High-resolution pictures are freely available on the Internet and are provided by many sites in addition to Google Earth, Kalam said. He cautioned officers during his speech to be aware of emerging "open-source intelligence." He also showed the audience aerial pictures of some of the sensitive locations in India.

"When you look deeper into it, you would realize that the specific laws in some countries, regarding spatial observations over their territory and UN recommendations about the display of spatial observations, are inadequate," he noted.

An intelligent mining of the data available on the Internet, according to Kalam, could give "indicators of preformation activities of terrorists groups and their origins and their supporters."

Kalam has been a vocal supporter of open-source software and has not refrained from criticizing Microsoft.

Open Source Intelligence vs. Software

In intelligence, an open source is one that's available to the general public. Google Earth is an "open source" of information, even though it's not open-source software. Two different contexts.

Public source probably would make more sense for intelligence, but they've been using the term open source a lot longer than any piece of software has. C'est la vie.

Open Source Intelligence vs. Software

In intelligence, an open source is one that's available to the general public. Google Earth is an "open source" of information, even though it's not open-source software. Two different contexts.

Public source probably would make more sense for intelligence, but they've been using the term open source a lot longer than any piece of software has. C'est la vie.

[aemarques]

3rd World?

I didn't know that countries like Canada, USA, or even France or Portugal (I can see my house from Google in Lisbon!) were third world countries. But we are always learning...

[aemarques]

3rd World?

I didn't know that countries like Canada, USA, or even France or Portugal (I can see my house from Google in Lisbon!) were third world countries. But we are always learning...

[SteveBarry687]

Big Freaking Deal

It is amazing that all of this hoopla is being made about Google Earth. This same thing was available a long time ago. You used to get a version of this same software (Google did not create it) with any Nvidia card you bought. I got mine with my Hercules Prophet GTS Pro years ago.

I guess if the asertion that terrorists can use it to plot attacks, the government needs to look into whether Osama used the Nvidia version and sue them. Because suing people and companies fixes everything, right? :/

Thats what I thought too...

I had a trial version of a program called Keyhole which did basically the same thing as Google Earth months before Google's version came out. The pictures, by and large, also seemed a little consistently high-resolution.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

MS provided the same years ago

It's called TerraServer and it's been available for several years. It's not nearly as cool as the Google Earth software but it certainly provides the same high resolution satellite images.

[SteveBarry687]

Big Freaking Deal

It is amazing that all of this hoopla is being made about Google Earth. This same thing was available a long time ago. You used to get a version of this same software (Google did not create it) with any Nvidia card you bought. I got mine with my Hercules Prophet GTS Pro years ago.

I guess if the asertion that terrorists can use it to plot attacks, the government needs to look into whether Osama used the Nvidia version and sue them. Because suing people and companies fixes everything, right? :/

Thats what I thought too...

I had a trial version of a program called Keyhole which did basically the same thing as Google Earth months before Google's version came out. The pictures, by and large, also seemed a little consistently high-resolution.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

MS provided the same years ago

It's called TerraServer and it's been available for several years. It's not nearly as cool as the Google Earth software but it certainly provides the same high resolution satellite images.

[captnet]

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Yea, while were talking about security risks Mr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Our federal government here in the USA should consider pulling all funding to off shore software development firms located in India! What's the point you ask Mr. Abdul Kalam. You have such insight it smells to high heaven! Have a nice day.

[Tanjore]

He is cautioning officers about the information

Kalam is cautioning the officers about the kind of free information that is available.

Kalam knows that it is not possible to stop access to information.

Attitude

Here Mr. President is talking about terrorist threat. We have suffered for last 20 years because of this and we know what pain it is. Out sourcing is need of the hour and only been done for mutual benefits. Please don't try to mix things and create confusion

[captnet]

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Yea, while were talking about security risks Mr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Our federal government here in the USA should consider pulling all funding to off shore software development firms located in India! What's the point you ask Mr. Abdul Kalam. You have such insight it smells to high heaven! Have a nice day.

[Tanjore]

He is cautioning officers about the information

Kalam is cautioning the officers about the kind of free information that is available.

Kalam knows that it is not possible to stop access to information.

Attitude

Here Mr. President is talking about terrorist threat. We have suffered for last 20 years because of this and we know what pain it is. Out sourcing is need of the hour and only been done for mutual benefits. Please don't try to mix things and create confusion

[smcgui5]

Moutains form Molehills

Another reason why we should stay indoors and board ourselves up right? Wrong. Terrorist paranoia has gotten way out of control. Those pictures are, at least, 5-6 years old. There's nothing new about anything. If terrorists are going to plan an attack, I highly doubt they are going to sit on a computer and look at 5-6 year old pictures from Google all day. If that's the case, then we might as well scrap anything that has to do with GPS's.

national monument or a new sub-division?

I didn't know that the Indian Parliament moves every 5-6 years and neither did I know that the roads leading in and out of it keep changing every 5-6 years. That was a no-brainer, seriously...!

Dr. Kalam was probably hinting that with such tools in the hands of terrorists will prove to be nothing but detrimental to the security of a developing country like India.

[smcgui5]

Moutains form Molehills

Another reason why we should stay indoors and board ourselves up right? Wrong. Terrorist paranoia has gotten way out of control. Those pictures are, at least, 5-6 years old. There's nothing new about anything. If terrorists are going to plan an attack, I highly doubt they are going to sit on a computer and look at 5-6 year old pictures from Google all day. If that's the case, then we might as well scrap anything that has to do with GPS's.

national monument or a new sub-division?

I didn't know that the Indian Parliament moves every 5-6 years and neither did I know that the roads leading in and out of it keep changing every 5-6 years. That was a no-brainer, seriously...!

Dr. Kalam was probably hinting that with such tools in the hands of terrorists will prove to be nothing but detrimental to the security of a developing country like India.

[PCCRomeo]

Who would bomb India??

Seriously......?

[aabcdefghij987654321]

Pakistan

They've only gone to war with each other several times since they were both formed. Things have eased up lately but there's also a lot of ethnic unrest in India.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

Who??

Dude, do you live in a cave? Who would bomb India?!? Never heard of a country called Pakistan? India and Pakistan have ongoing territorial disputes that have lead both of them to develop nuclear weapons! Skirmishes are fairly common, as are bombings.

China and India also have a rather rough history, including the 1962 Indo-China war where China attacked India over a border dispute. Things between India and China are smoother today, but both sides still have large numbers of troops in the disputed areas.

There is also a troubled history between Sri Lanka and India.

I am not saying that India's stance on Google Earth is correct, but asking who would attack India is unbelievably ignorant.

[t8]

There will be a war

I have come back from your future to tell you that there will be a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan. Loss of life will be high.

ignorance is NOT bliss...

who??? I'll tell you who???

Ever heard of PAKISTAN, India shares it's entire north-western border with it's not-so-friendly neighbor. Ever heard of Kashmir and cross-border terrorists who have once before tried, but failed to blow up the Indian Parliament! There have been three major wars between India and Pakistan already over the disputed land of Kashmir. Now that both of them are equipped with Nukes, the world pretty much knows that there is another Hiroshima disaster in the making!

If you don't know these simple facts then you probably don't know that more Indians (mostly innocent Hindu Pandits living in the Kashmiri valley) have lost their lives to jihadi terrorism than any other country in the world.

How can you be so stupid and ignorant!!!

[kingsleyj]

Here's a list ... and read a newspaper

By order of likelihood:
1) Kashmiri terrorists
2) Northeast separatists
3) The LTTE
4) Khalisthani terrorists
5) Pakistan
6) China

[PCCRomeo]

Who would bomb India??

Seriously......?

[aabcdefghij987654321]

Pakistan

They've only gone to war with each other several times since they were both formed. Things have eased up lately but there's also a lot of ethnic unrest in India.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

Who??

Dude, do you live in a cave? Who would bomb India?!? Never heard of a country called Pakistan? India and Pakistan have ongoing territorial disputes that have lead both of them to develop nuclear weapons! Skirmishes are fairly common, as are bombings.

China and India also have a rather rough history, including the 1962 Indo-China war where China attacked India over a border dispute. Things between India and China are smoother today, but both sides still have large numbers of troops in the disputed areas.

There is also a troubled history between Sri Lanka and India.

I am not saying that India's stance on Google Earth is correct, but asking who would attack India is unbelievably ignorant.

[t8]

There will be a war

I have come back from your future to tell you that there will be a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan. Loss of life will be high.

ignorance is NOT bliss...

who??? I'll tell you who???

Ever heard of PAKISTAN, India shares it's entire north-western border with it's not-so-friendly neighbor. Ever heard of Kashmir and cross-border terrorists who have once before tried, but failed to blow up the Indian Parliament! There have been three major wars between India and Pakistan already over the disputed land of Kashmir. Now that both of them are equipped with Nukes, the world pretty much knows that there is another Hiroshima disaster in the making!

If you don't know these simple facts then you probably don't know that more Indians (mostly innocent Hindu Pandits living in the Kashmiri valley) have lost their lives to jihadi terrorism than any other country in the world.

How can you be so stupid and ignorant!!!

[kingsleyj]

Here's a list ... and read a newspaper

By order of likelihood:
1) Kashmiri terrorists
2) Northeast separatists
3) The LTTE
4) Khalisthani terrorists
5) Pakistan
6) China

Huh???

What the heck does the last line of this story have to do with anything the article is about??

[Mendz]

Double huh?!!!

We have a character in India who is actively criticizing Google Earth as a possible terrorist tool. For your information, he loves the open-source movement. Oh, and by the way, he hates Microsoft. What's the point of this article in the first place? Losing focus? Calling all news.com editors...

Huh???

What the heck does the last line of this story have to do with anything the article is about??

[Mendz]

Double huh?!!!

We have a character in India who is actively criticizing Google Earth as a possible terrorist tool. For your information, he loves the open-source movement. Oh, and by the way, he hates Microsoft. What's the point of this article in the first place? Losing focus? Calling all news.com editors...

[scdecade]

List of potential terrorist benefitting things...

Here's a quick list of things that might be beneficial to 'terrorists':

1) box cutters
2) scissors
3) rope
4) trucks
5) food
6) computers
7) fertilizer
8) binoculars
9) dogs
10) ...

I could go on but, hopefully, even the dimmest of wits can see where this is going.

[techmailing]

10th item is maps?

I guess the 10th item is maps...

I would guess that showing maps would not increase the risk of terrorist attacks...but it would ease the life of terrorists, if they do not already have such facilities.

In a programmer's lingo, it is like open source software. Why write it if it is already there and you can access it freely? Not that you cannot write, but your goals are easier to meet if you have such aids.

[scdecade]

List of potential terrorist benefitting things...

Here's a quick list of things that might be beneficial to 'terrorists':

1) box cutters
2) scissors
3) rope
4) trucks
5) food
6) computers
7) fertilizer
8) binoculars
9) dogs
10) ...

I could go on but, hopefully, even the dimmest of wits can see where this is going.

[techmailing]

10th item is maps?

I guess the 10th item is maps...

I would guess that showing maps would not increase the risk of terrorist attacks...but it would ease the life of terrorists, if they do not already have such facilities.

In a programmer's lingo, it is like open source software. Why write it if it is already there and you can access it freely? Not that you cannot write, but your goals are easier to meet if you have such aids.

[Stating]

If You Want Really Good Maps

Mr. Kalam-ity should aquaint himself with the really good maps available from companies like DigitalGlobe instead of worry about the grainy, blurry maps from Google Earth. Does he not think that terrorists can afford anything other than freeware? What are they going to lob at India, rocks fom a catapult?

http://www.janes.com/marketing/patriciap/sofex/daytwo/sofex2011.html
"US company DigitalGlobe is making available high-resolution satellite imaging to a growing number of customers worldwide, helping to overcome security limitations introduced some 30 years ago. In those days, access to images taken from satellites was limited to a small number of people permitted by very few governments.

Over the years, commercial satellites have provided agriculture-, mineral exploration- and environment-related services, but the advent of the QuickBird satellite owned by DigitalGlobe is said to be the most recent and powerful entry into the marketplace. Consequently, the company is changing the historical usage of Earth information through the commercialisation of high-resolution satellite imaging.

Staffed by experts in the remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and mapping industries, DigitalGlobe understands that most geospatial applications require the delivery of integrated information products derived from multiple data sources. To meet this demand, the company has pioneered the concept of a single point of access to a wide array of imagery, data and information products. QuickBird incorporates a 61cm panchromatic and a 2.44m, four-band multispectral sensor capability.

While many DigitalGlobe customers have a commercial or research background, defence and international bodies also make frequent use of its services to support disaster relief, mapping and other activities.

Exposed: The presidential palace in Baghdad was recorded with remarkable clarity from QuickBird in 2002"

[Stating]

If You Want Really Good Maps

Mr. Kalam-ity should aquaint himself with the really good maps available from companies like DigitalGlobe instead of worry about the grainy, blurry maps from Google Earth. Does he not think that terrorists can afford anything other than freeware? What are they going to lob at India, rocks fom a catapult?

http://www.janes.com/marketing/patriciap/sofex/daytwo/sofex2011.html
"US company DigitalGlobe is making available high-resolution satellite imaging to a growing number of customers worldwide, helping to overcome security limitations introduced some 30 years ago. In those days, access to images taken from satellites was limited to a small number of people permitted by very few governments.

Over the years, commercial satellites have provided agriculture-, mineral exploration- and environment-related services, but the advent of the QuickBird satellite owned by DigitalGlobe is said to be the most recent and powerful entry into the marketplace. Consequently, the company is changing the historical usage of Earth information through the commercialisation of high-resolution satellite imaging.

Staffed by experts in the remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and mapping industries, DigitalGlobe understands that most geospatial applications require the delivery of integrated information products derived from multiple data sources. To meet this demand, the company has pioneered the concept of a single point of access to a wide array of imagery, data and information products. QuickBird incorporates a 61cm panchromatic and a 2.44m, four-band multispectral sensor capability.

While many DigitalGlobe customers have a commercial or research background, defence and international bodies also make frequent use of its services to support disaster relief, mapping and other activities.

Exposed: The presidential palace in Baghdad was recorded with remarkable clarity from QuickBird in 2002"

[kingsleyj]

Why is the the White House blurred out?

Huh?

[Roman12]

is it?

Is it really? Perhaps its blurred out for the same reason India wants to blurred out/removed or whatever. Just concerned about security.
__________________________________
R.K.
http://www.Remove-All-Spyware.com/

Because

NSA has the right to enforce "block out" for national security.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

It's not blurred out, I see it just fine

Maybe you didn't wait long enough for it to load the detailed view?

It's blurred to hide anti-aircraft defenses

The WH and other D.C. buildings are blurred to hide missile batteries, anti-aircraft installations, and radars and communications gear on the tops of those buildings.

All of our military adversaries already know all about it. The blurring is supposed to make it harder for terrorists and other elements to gain that level of information.

[kingsleyj]

Why is the the White House blurred out?

Huh?

[Roman12]

is it?

Is it really? Perhaps its blurred out for the same reason India wants to blurred out/removed or whatever. Just concerned about security.
__________________________________
R.K.
http://www.Remove-All-Spyware.com/

Because

NSA has the right to enforce "block out" for national security.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

It's not blurred out, I see it just fine

Maybe you didn't wait long enough for it to load the detailed view?

It's blurred to hide anti-aircraft defenses

The WH and other D.C. buildings are blurred to hide missile batteries, anti-aircraft installations, and radars and communications gear on the tops of those buildings.

All of our military adversaries already know all about it. The blurring is supposed to make it harder for terrorists and other elements to gain that level of information.