With yesterday’s introduction[reuters.com] of Google Health, we can now add personal health records and related information to the types of data Google is storing. This service includes connections to pharmacies, like Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark, and other health groups. It will “allow patients to schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, receive diagnostic results online, and instantly add their doctors’ email addresses to a list of contacts.”

This service sounds very useful and is likely to be used by many people. My concern is that as the diversity and sensitivity of data Google is storing increases, so does it’s attractiveness as a target for those with malicious intent. According to Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president for search services and user experience, the service involves an additional layer of security and the data is stored separately from Google’s other data. Mayer stated that, “We certainly have put in place the foremost privacy policy[google.com] that we could construct.” We all hope so!

Dominic Schulte

Dominic Schulte currently serves as the Managing Director of Security Services & Consulting at TRUE, where he is responsible for the execution of a wide range of security and regulatory compliance services. Previously, Dominic worked with the National Security Agency (NSA) as a Global Network Exploitation and Vulnerability Analyst in the National Security Incident and Response Center (NSIRC). He holds CISSP, QSA and CNSS 4011-4015 certifications.