Google supplier leaks staff data in email fumble

Google has reported a data breach that saw employees' personal information mistakenly sent to the wrong recipient.

In a notice [pdf] filed with the California Attorney-General's office, Google's director of United States benefits, Teri Wisness, said the company had been notified of the data breach by the sender.

A third-party provider of benefits management services had accidentally sent the document to a manager at a different company, who viewed the document and deleted it.

The document contained an undisclosed number of Google staff names and United States Social Security Numbers (SSNs), Wisness said.

She said there was no evidence the information had been misused, and computer log files indicate nobody else had viewed the document. There was also no indication the information had been saved or otherwise disclosed, she said.

As a result of the data breach, Google will provide two years' worth of free identity protection and credit monitoring service for affected staff.

The company also recommended that the employees in question order a credit report.