The Pentagon says the Street View feature in Google Maps can compromise military shield. It has banned Google vehicles from entering any military installation after detailed images of Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Tex., arised on Google Maps.

“We don’t have any issues regarding Google and their products, which are very useful tools,” said Gary Ross, a public-affairs officer for the U.S. Northern Command. “But the Street View provides clear imagery of control points, barriers, headquarters and protection facilities that pose a risk to our force-protection efforts.”

Driver Violated Policy

Google said the images were taken improperly and have been removed. “It is against Google’s policy for a driver to seek access to a military base,” Google spokesperson Larry Yu said. “Against our policy, we did mistakenly access the base. … In those instances where (the military) have expressed concerns about the imagery, we have accommodated their requests.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that a Sam Houston

official twice granted Google access after the Google driver promised he would not videotape or photograph. The official believed an online map would be useful to guide visitors.

Yu said Google would continue to work with area of Defense officials to ensure that sensitive imagery does not seem on Google Maps.

An Isolated Incident?

It’s not clear whether the situation at Sam Houston was the only breach of policy. Comments from Gen. Gene Renuart, head of the military command responsible for homeland defense, suggested the problems were widespread. “We’ve got to get a sense of what is there and see how we can mitigate it,” Renuart told reporters at the Pentagon.

“It actually shows where all the guards are. It shows how the barriers go up and down. It shows how to get in and out of buildings,” said Renuart, commander of the U.S. Northern Command. “I think that poses…

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