NSA Working With Google To Understand Chinese Hacker Intrusion

Google (GOOG) is teaming up with the National Security Agency, reports the Washington Post. “Sources with knowledge of the arrangement, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google's policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans' online communications.” The idea is to protect Google’s users from future attacks, by allowing the NSA to help Google figure out the root of the recent major attack on the firm’s systems in China. Matthew Aid, an NSA expert, expressed what is sure to be the first of many concerns on how working closely with the country’s leading intelligence-gathering agency will affect Google’s reputation: "When you rise to the level of Google ... you're looking at a company that has taken great pride in its independence," said Aid, author of The Secret Sentry, a history of the NSA. "I'm a little uncomfortable with Google cooperating this closely with the nation's largest intelligence agency, even if it's strictly for defensive purposes."