Google Maps may have accidentally disclosed the location of secret Indian military bases, according to reports recently.
The Indian Central Bureau of Investigation started investigating Google after it revealed the locations of sensitive military installations, the Press Trust of India said.
According to Newsweek, it was part of a so-called Mapathon mapping contest held by Google.
“Except that Pathankot, the city which contest winner Vishal Saini mapped, is very close to the border of what India calls Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan calls the area Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), or simply Azad Kashmir (‘Free Kashmir’). The two countries have fought three wars over the territory since 1947,” Newsweek’s Taylor Wofford wrote.
The Survey of India called on Google to share details of how it got the information. According to India’s National Map Policy, “The responsibility for producing, maintaining and disseminating the topographic map database of the whole country, which is the foundation of all spatial data, vests with the Survey of India.”
Google India issued a statement to BGR about the matter.
It said, “We are in touch with relevant authorities and take national regulations and security very seriously. We have nothing more to share at this point in time.”
The Associated press update:
Google confirms it sold barge docked in Maine
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Google Inc. is confirming that the barge it docked in Maine has been sold.
The barge carries dozens of old shipping containers that were joined to create a four-story building. Googleenvisioned it as one of three floating retail stores.
The Portland Press Herald says an international company is buying the barge and taking it on an ocean voyage. Portland Harbor’s deputy harbor master says the containers will be disassembled and scrapped.
The barge first docked in Portland Harbor in October and moved to South Portland Wednesday. A Portland city spokeswoman says the city received $400,000 in state reimbursements while it docked there.
Google initially had little to say about the barges, leading to speculation about its intentions. It later revealed they were to be stores. One is moored in Stockton, California.
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