p2pnet.net News:- AOL chief technology officer Maureen Govern has resigned following the company’s appalling security screw-up when more than half-a-million user search records turned up on online.

“Although there was no personally-identifiable data linked to these accounts, we’re absolutely not defending this,” said AOL’s Andrew Weinstein, later stating, “We acknowledged that there was information that could potentially lead to people being identified, which is why we were so angry.”

“This incident took place because some employees did not exercise good judgment or review their proposal with our privacy team,” The New York Times quotes ceo Jonathan F. Miller as saying in an e-mail message to employee.

“We are taking appropriate action with the employees who were responsible.”

He’s also reported as saying, “I want to thank Maureen for her hard work during her time with AOL and we wish her all the best as she pursues new opportunities.”

“Staffing changes aren’t going to get to the root of this problem,” the NYT has the EFF’s Kevin Bankston saying.

“It’s a problem that reaches to the whole search industry, and not just AOL.”

The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

Also See:
appalling security screw-up – AOL user identified, August 9, 2006
The New York Times – AOL Moves to Increase Privacy on Search Queries, August 22, 2006

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