[Infowarrior] - 51 Things You Aren't Allowed to See on Google Maps

Thu Sep 4 15:46:59 UTC 2008

Blurred Out: 51 Things You Aren't Allowed to See on Google Maps

http://www.itsecurity.com/features/51-things-not-on-google-maps-071508/

IT Security Editors on July 15, 2008

Depending on which feature you use, Google Maps offers a satellite  
view or a street-level view of tons of locations around the world. You  
can look up landmarks like the Pyramids of Egypt or the Great Wall of  
China, as well as more personal places, like your ex’s house. But for  
all of the places that Google Maps allows you to see, there are plenty  
of places that are off-limits. Whether it’s due to government  
restrictions, personal-privacy lawsuits or mistakes, Google Maps has  
slapped a "Prohibited" sign on the following 51 places.

Government and Military Sites

    1. The White House: Google Maps' images of the White House show a  
digitally erased version of the roof in order to obscure the air- 
defense and security assets that are in place.
    2. The U.S. Capitol: The U.S. Capitol has been fuzzy ever since  
Google Maps launched. Current versions of Google Maps and Google Earth  
show these sites uncensored, though with old pictures.
    3. Dick Cheney's House: The Vice President's digs at Number One  
Observatory Circle are obscured through pixelation in Google Earth and  
Google Maps at the behest of the U.S. government. However, high- 
resolution photos and aerial surveys of the property are readily  
available on other Web sites.
    4. Soesterberg Air Base, in the Netherlands: This Dutch air-force  
base and former F-15 base for the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War  
can't be seen via Google Maps.
    5. PAVE PAWS in Cape Cod, Mass.: PAVE PAWS is the U.S. Air Force  
Space Command’s radar system for missile warning and space  
surveillance. There are two other installations besides the one in  
Cape Cod.
    6. Shatt-Al-Arab Hotel in Basra, Iraq: This site was possibly  
censored after it was reported that terrorists who attacked the  
British at the hotel used aerial footage displayed by Google Earth to  
target their attacks.
    7. Leeuwarden, Netherlands: This Dutch city is one of the main  
operating bases of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, part of NATO's  
Joint Command Centre and one of three Joint Sub-Regional Commands of  
Allied Forces Northern Europe. Leeuwarden is also one of two regional  
headquarters of Allied Command Europe, headed by the Supreme Allied  
Commander Europe.
    8. Reims Air Base in France: This lone building on Reims Air Base  
in France is blurred out.
    9. Novi Sad: This military base in Serbia is off-limits.
   10. Kamp van Zeist: Kamp van Zeist is a former U.S. Air Force base  
that was temporarily declared sovereign territory of the U.K. in 2000  
in order to allow the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial to take place.
   11. NATO C3 Agency: Located in Brussels, Belgium, the C3 Agency  
supports NATO through scientific support and funded acquisition of  
C4ISR (Consultation, Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence,  
Surveillance and Reconnaissance) capabilities.
   12. New American Embassy Location: This site is under construction.
   13. NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen : This is the site of the main  
operating of NATO's Airborne Early Warning Control Force's E-3A  
Component, which provides an early-warning radar system to enhance  
NATO's air- defense capabilities. The base includes 17 E-3A aircraft  
used for air surveillance and air-operations-communications support.  
Crews from 14 nations, including Spain, Turkey and the U.S., power the  
aircraft.
   14. Ramstein Air Base in Germany: Ramstein Air Base figures  
prominently in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.  
It's the home of the 86th Airlift Wing and headquarters of U.S. Air  
Forces in Europe. It is also a NATO installation. Americans,  
Canadians, Germans, British, French and other nationalities comprise  
the base's population.
   15. The Royal Stables in The Hague, Netherlands: A division of the  
Civil Household, the Royal Stables arranges transport for the members  
of the Royal House and the Royal Household.
   16. Huis Ten Bosch Palace: This address is one of the four official  
residences of the Dutch Royal Family, also located in The Hague,  
Netherlands. Queen Beatrix has lived here since 1981.
       Political Pushback on Google Earth and Google Maps' Street View
   17. North Oaks, Minn.: In late June 2008, the St. Paul, Minn.  
suburb of North Oaks successfully petitioned that street images be  
removed from Google Maps’ Street View feature. The argument put forth  
collectively by North Oaks' 4,500 residents involves the fact that the  
town has private roads that are protected by a trespassing ordinance.  
Google spokeswoman Elaine Filadelfo said that she didn't know of any  
other city in the country that has made a similar request.
   18. The Boring Home: Aaron and Christine Boring of Franklin Park  
Pa. claimed that Google Maps' Street View feature violated their  
privacy, devalued their property and caused them mental suffering by  
posting images of a private road in front of their house. The Borings  
said that the images of their home must have been taken from their  
long driveway, which is labeled "Private Road."
   19. Bahrain: In August 2006, Bahrain's Ministry of Information  
instructed the country's Internet exchange to block access to Google  
Earth servers. The ban lasted three days. Internet rumors claimed that  
the ban's goal was to keep poorer citizens from viewing the elaborate  
residences and private jets of the country's rich, in order to keep  
secret the inequity of wealth distribution in Bahrain. Cyberactivists  
circulated an email that contained a PDF file with annotated Google  
Earth screenshots of the supposed Bahrain sites.
   20. Europe: In May 2008, the EU's (European Union) data-protection  
agency railed against Google Maps' Street View feature, which shows  
ground-level, 360-degree views of streets in 30 U.S. cities. Officials  
claimed that the feature may break EU privacy laws if launched in  
Europe.
   21. Singapore: In April 2008, the country's government claimed that  
the ban stemmed from a dispute between SLA (Singapore Land Authority)  
and Google over copyright issues. SLA alleged that the satellite  
images on Google Earth are direct copies of real geographic features  
in Singapore and infringe upon the organization's copyrights.
   22. Sudan: The Google Earth ban in Sudan is reportedly due to U.S.  
export restrictions and economic-sanctions regulations. Knowledge of  
the ban spread after Google Earth added info about the humanitarian  
crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.
   23. Iran: Late in 2007, an Iranian businessman tried to download  
Google Earth and got a message that said, "Thanks for your interest,  
but the product that you're trying to download is not available in  
your country."
   24. India: Google censors certain sensitive sites in India. Former  
Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam expressed concern over the  
availability of high-resolution pictures of sensitive locations within  
the country.
   25. Sydney, Australia: Much of inner Sydney still remains blurred.  
Google says that it removed the high-resolution photos due to a  
problem with one of the image providers, but Internet publications  
pointed to fears that the maps could be used as a terrorist tool. Some  
of the blocked areas include (or have included at some point) The  
Garden Island Naval Depot, the Lucas Heights Reactor, Parliament House  
and the Australian Defence Force headquarters in Canberra.
   26. Areas of Southeast Asia: Areas blurred by Google Earth include  
sensitive political areas like Tibet/Xinjiang Province, northern areas  
of Pakistan and royal palaces.
   27. Central/Eastern village of Yona, on the Pacific Island  
Territory of Guam: It’s unknown why this location is censored.
   28. The city of Utrecht in the Netherlands: Some sites say that the  
ban on this Dutch city was an apparent mistake, but it does hold  
relevance as an ancient city and has served as the religious center of  
the Netherlands since the eighth century.
   29. Fortress on Castell de Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain: This hill  
no longer houses a military presence, but it’s unavailable in Google  
Maps' high-resolution satellite images. However it did become  
accessible on Google Earth in April 2008.
       Nuclear Stations, Energy-Generation Sites and Reserves
   30. Seabrook Station: This nuclear-power station is located in New  
Hampshire and is one of two originally planned units.
   31. UMass Lowell Nuclear Research Reactor: This lab's primary focus  
is on reactor physics, operations and modeling. It houses 1 MW pool- 
type nuclear research reactor that has been operating since 1974.
   32. Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester, N.Y.: Indian Point  
Energy Center is a three-unit nuclear power plant station.
   33. Hydroelectric Dams and Supporting Waterways Near Niagara Falls,  
N.Y.: Niagara Falls function as a good source of hydroelectric power,  
which is probably why Google keeps these dams and waterways blurred.
   34. McGuire Nuclear Station: With two Westinghouse pressurized  
water reactors and an ability to produce 2,200 megawatts of power,  
McGuire Nuclear Station generates almost half of North Carolina's  
nuclear power.
   35. Perry Nuclear Generating Station: The San Francisco Chronicle  
reported in May 2007 that a spokeswoman for FirstEnergy, the  
electricity company that owns this Ohio nuclear plant, had no idea why  
the facility was blurred on Google.
   36. Oconee Nuclear Station in Seneca, S.C.: Oconee Nuclear Station,  
which has three pressurized water reactors manufactured by The Babcock  
& Wilcox Company, is the second nuclear power plant in the country to  
have its license extended by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
   37. Oil-Tank Farm in Braintree, Mass.: An oil-tank farm is a  
storage facility for liquid chemicals.
   38. Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant: Though closed since 1989 due to  
protests, this General Electric Co. nuclear boiling-water reactor in  
New York is still fuzzy on Google Maps.
   39. Liquid Natural Gas Terminal in Chelsea, Mass. and a Large  
Portion of an Industrial Port Area in Boston: Both of these areas are  
blurry on Google Maps.
   40. Marshall Steam Station in Terrell, N.C.: Marshall Steam Station  
is a four-unit, coal-fired generating facility located in Catawba  
County, North Carolina.
       Colleges and Research Labs
   41. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory:  
Lincoln Laboratory is a federally funded research-and-development  
center working to use advanced technology to help solve problems of  
national security.
   42. General Electric World Research Laboratories and General  
Electric Main Plant in Schenectady, N.Y.: According to General  
Electric's Web site, the research component boasts more than 3,000 of  
"the best and brightest researchers spread out at four multi- 
disciplinary facilities around the world."
   43. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory: This research-and-development  
facility supports the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, which  
researches, designs, constructs, operates and maintains U.S. nuclear- 
powered warships.
   44. Stony Brook University: Stony Brook University is blurred  
because it houses Brookhaven National Laboratory.
   45. Manhattanville College's Dammann and Tenney Dormitories:  
Manhattanville College, located in Purchase N.Y., is probably blurred  
because it’s near several corporate headquarters, including PepsiCo  
Inc., Texaco and MasterCard.
   46. Noordwijk Aan Zee: The headquarters for ESTEC (European Space  
Research and Technology Centre and part of ESA (European Space Agency)  
are located in this Dutch community.
   47. HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) Antenna  
Array on the Alaska/Yukon Border: This is part of the site for HAARP,  
which studies ionospheric-radio science.Miscellaneous
   48. White Plains Train Station: The Wikipedia page for this New  
York train station states that "due to security reasons, overhead  
images of the station cannot be viewed in Google Maps or Google Earth."
   49. William Hurt's Home: This actor’s home outside of Paris is hazy.
   50. Playland Amusement Park in Rye, N.Y.: Google will not let you  
in on the fun at this amusement park, which boasts arcade games and 45  
major rides.
   51. Saint Louis School in Honolulu: Only the football field, the  
field house, the gym and ellipse are available on Google.