Notes from the “I told you so” file
Well, it didn’t take too long. C-Net reports today that Google inadvertently shared some Google docs files with folks they weren’t supposed to be shared with.
Lifehacker ponders whether this is a “minor privacy blunder”.
Meanwhile, Google is busy blaming it on the user (italics are mine): “We’ve identified and fixed a bug which may have caused you to share some of your documents without your knowledge.”
Yeah, Lifehacker, this isn’t minor. It never is. Especially to those individuals who have data that was shared without knowledge. Oh, and C-Net, you shouldn’t downplay this either – so while mentioning that lost laptops are a security risk, too, it doesn’t do anything to resolve the issue at hand.
Look folks, any breach of privacy, especially in a SaaS/cloud-computing environment is a HUGE problem. Shore up your contracts today, please (confidentiality, IP indemnification, and exclusions for breach of confidentiality in your limitation of liability language). Need help doing it? Just give me a shout.
The current economic situation is encouraging many organizations to reconsider their current contractual relationships. Contact me before your opponent does to find out how to make the most of your renegotiations. The Licensing Handbook Blog is the companion site to the Software Licensing Handbook. Covering licensing topics on a regular basis, Jeffrey Gordon attempts to offer advice, add humor and sometimes even a bit of wit to a practice that most people find abhorrent – namely, reading a contract from start to finish.
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