Why the NSA loves Google’s Chromebook

[Commentary] Intel and Google are announcing an upcoming onslaught of new Google Chromebooks based on Intel's Haswell architecture processors. The idea of a cloud-tethered notebook that can keep its owner connected over Wi-Fi and broadband all day long—in some cases for less than the price of a shiny new Apple iPhone—is going to be awfully appealing to many. And without a doubt, no one will be happier than the National Security Agency (NSA) and law enforcement.

While Google's cloud computing has provided a platform for the company to grab a big chunk of the low-cost notebook market and upend Microsoft's Windows applecart, the recent NSA leaks by Edward Snowden have put the cloud under... a cloud. The revelations about the NSA and FBI's PRISM program have added new doubts, particularly outside the US, about the wisdom of putting everything in Google's (or any other cloud provider's) basket. Furthermore, the Chromebook is everything a government watchman could want—even without Google Apps data and Gmail, it could give those with network monitoring capabilities a way to pinpoint the location of a credential-holder via 4G wireless (thanks, Verizon). If recent revelations from Brazil are correct, Chromebook plus a government-forged Google certificate equals a man-in-the-middle attack against the SSL security of Google's services—and a way for the government to read all of your e-mails and documents as they pass back and forth through an Internet chokepoint to and from your browser.