Google fired dozens of its employees between 2018 and 2020, due to data misuse
It is said that the employees were fired for “abusing their access to the company’s tools or data”, while some of them seemingly accessed Google user or employee data. Such actions are not exactly new in the tech industry, as the source points out. Such instances were uncovered at Facebook, Snapchat, and MySpace in the past, amongst others. The aforementioned document reveals that Google fired 36 employees in 2020 for “security-related issues”. 86-percent of security-related allegations actually included the mishandling of confidential information. 10-percent of allegations in 2020 have to do with misuse of systems, which may include accessing user or employee data. That, of course, violates Google’s own policies. What’s interesting is that this is a decrease compared to 2019, as 13-percent of all allegations had to do with misuse of systems. It is also stated that Google fired 26 people in 2019, and 18 in 2018 due to security incidents. Motherboard also reached out to Google for a comment, and the company’s spokesperson said the following: “The instances referred to mostly relate to inappropriate access to, or misuse of, proprietary and sensitive corporate information or IP.”
Google has a number of safeguards in place to protect user data
The spokesperson also said that Google “tightly restricts employee access through a number of industry-leading safeguards”. The company actually requires justification to access such data, which is one of the safeguards. The company also provides training to every employee, on a yearly basis. It also investigates all allegations, and violations result in “corrective action”, which can include termination. The spokesperson also said that Google is very transparent when it comes to the number and outcome of its investigations. Needless to say, the company also said that the security of customer and user data is its top priority.
