Google executive hired as US Deputy National Cyber Director

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The fledgling Office of the National Cyber Director of the White House has hired Google executive Camille Stewart Gloster as its deputy national cyber director for technology and ecosystem security, Axios reported on Monday.

Stewart Gloster's work will mainly focus on workforce programs and supply chain security issues, the news outlet said, citing an administration official familiar with the matter.

The office in question was only established last year under the Biden administration as President Joe Biden's principal advisor on cybersecurity policy, strategy, and engagement with industry and international stakeholders.

The Google executive will start her job on August 1 after serving most recently as Google's global head of product security strategy.

Stewart Gloster has White House experience, previously serving as a senior policy adviser at the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama administration.

Google has a long history of controversies surrounding its collection of users' data and storing it without consent.

The Tagansky district court in Moscow fined Google $264,000 in mid-June for repeatedly refusing to localize Russian citizens' personal data.

Google LLC continues to store Russians' personal data in databases in the United States and the European Union, according to the protocol developed by Roskomnadzor under Part 9 of Art. 13.11 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses.

Previously, Google was fined $52 million in July 2021 for refusing to localize Russian citizens' personal data.

Additionally, a recent report alleged that Google Chrome extensions collect data about the user's system such as installed applications, hardware configuration, and performance stats.

Google Chrome extensions not only collect a lot of data about users and their browsing habits but also track online activity and most likely display personalized ads based on the data.

The White House hiring a Google executive amid the controversies the giant tech firm is mired in will likely prompt an uproar from the public, especially since the hire will be in charge of national issues concerning cyberspace.

The US government itself is not free of controversies when it comes to the data of civilians, as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) unveiled in previously unreleased records that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been acquiring location data of its targets from third parties to avert requiring a warrant to pursue a certain person of interest.

The documents show that DHS is not alone in purchasing its way around the US constitution, as agencies such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were able to purchase tons of location data without any oversight before using it to track the movements of millions of cellphones within the United States.

Though technically not a violation of the constitution, the practice is incredibly shady.

Obtaining data about communication within the United States from telecommunication providers requires the agency seeking to acquire the data to obtain a warrant, which must be approved by a judge. However, there is no law against buying data from brokers and shady third-party companies that are not subjected to any constraints.