“Access to information Google improperly collected from unsecured wireless computer networks may be needed to prevent a repeat,” Blumenthal said. 

“Google’s story has changed from claiming it only collected fragments to
acknowledging possible capture of full e-mails, making review of the
data even more urgent.”

“As we have said before, we are profoundly sorry for having mistakenly collected payload data from unencrypted networks. As soon as we realized what had happened, we stopped collecting all WiFi data from our Street View cars and immediately informed the authorities,” said a Google spokesperson in an e-mailed statement.

“We did not want and have never used the payload data in any of our products and services. We want to delete the data as soon as possible and will continue to work with the authorities to determine the best way forward, as well as to answer their further questions and concerns.”

Google declined to comment beyond the statement.

Blumenthal promised to “scrupulously safeguard the confidentiality of any information
that we review,” indicating he plans on pursuing the matter further.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), who will become chairman emeritus of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the next Congress, has indicated he thinks the breach was intentional.

Scrutiny on the incident has increased across the globe, with South Korean authorities raiding Google’s Seoul offices over the raid in August. Italy, Spain and Australia are also investigating the incident.

The Wall

Street Journal was the first to report Blumenthal’s statement.