Google: 12 massive moments

Google's StreetView project had already come under fire by the time the Wi-Fi data scandal hit in May 2010.

Street View vehicles mistakenly took data over unencrypted Wi-Fi networks whilst recording images for the mapping service and subsequently came under investigation in a number of companies where the cars had been.

In the UK, it looks as though the search giant will not be punished for the error, but elsewhere Google may still find itself in trouble.

12. Google Waves goodbye

Having been previewed at the Google I/O developer conference in May 2009, Google Wave a new communication and collaboration tool was launched later in the year.

Unfortunately, the project didn't go as planned and in August this year, the plug was officially pulled. The main issue was uptake simply wasn't big enough, but IT PRO took a look at some of the other reasons why.

Tom Brewster

Tom Brewster is currently an associate editor at Forbes and an award-winning journalist who covers cyber security, surveillance, and privacy. Starting his career at ITPro as a staff writer and working up to a senior staff writer role, Tom has been covering the tech industry for more than ten years and is considered one of the leading journalists in his specialism.

He is a proud alum of the University of Sheffield where he secured an undergraduate degree in English Literature before undertaking a certification from General Assembly in web development.