A security breach (guessed email password) exposed the founder of Twitter (and Blogger, also) Ev Stone to some very evil infiltrations as someone guessed an employee’s email password. Information sharing meant that the hacker got instant access to their google apps as well as email. In the immediate future, it sounds like terrible PR for his enterprises. But in the long run, may be very beneficial to Google. Let me explain.

It is disturbing that his online Gmail account and Google apps were hacked – to all other Google users, how can you be sure someone is not hacking your Google account right now? The great thing about owning your own computer hardware is that if something goes horribly wrong, you can at least turn it off.

The great thing about criminals stealing data online and hacking the high profile accounts of business leaders who have sold companies to google is that it, Google, is big enough and ugly enough to employ its own data security measures and find anyone who perpetrates such crimes. Regardless of fake or cancelled IP addresses, the perpetrators have left physical (electronic) records of their deeds and CAN BE CAUGHT if someone is motivated enough to find them.

Biz Stone has talked about this openly on a blog, probably hosted by blogger (which was mysteriously down when I wrote this) his own security breach is to show why Google Wave is needed.

Google not only can catch the crooks, they also need to provide a very much more secure software environment. If anyone can provide truly remote security, a Google hosted environment is probably the best bet. Even the NSA has been hacked. What a market.

The article I read talks about how Sarah Palin’s passwords were compromised. Sorry, could not resist – the USA does not want short circuited intellect running things.

“It can be trivial to guess someone’s passwords, as former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin found out during the election, when her personal email was hacked and screenshots were posted online.”

“The attacker sneaked in by accurately guessing the answer’s to Palin’s security questions, based on information about her and her family that was already online.”

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NZ Herald