NSA, Google deal target of determined FOIA request

The Electronic Privacy Information Center is actively pursuing specific details of a secret deal that the National Security Agency made with Google in the wake of an attack carried out by Chinese hackers on Gmail in 2010, PCWorld reports.

The center filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the NSA to obtain information about the deal, but the agency denied the request. That rejection subsequently was upheld by a federal court. A hearing on the appeal of that decision was scheduled for March 20.

The FOIA request sought records between NSA and Google regarding cybersecurity, records of communication between Google and NSA concerning Gmail, and records of communications regarding NSA's role in Google’s decision regarding the failure to routinely deploy encryption for cloud-based computing services.