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Google 'Pretty Sure' Your Data Is Safe: Schmidt

<p>Google's executive chairman says the company has upgraded the encryption process it uses to help keep users' information secure.</p>
Image: Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt at SXSW Festival
Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt speaks onstage during the 2014 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival at Austin Convention Center on Friday in Austin, Texas.Heather Kennedy / Getty Images Contributor
/ Source: CNBC.com

Google is "pretty sure" your data is safe, Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said Friday at a panel discussion at South by Southwest Interactive.

Google has upgraded the encryption process it uses to help keep people's information secure, he said. The company was in the process of improving its encryption process when the Edward Snowden revelations came to light, which made the company expedite the process, Schmidt said.

Image: Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt at SXSW Festival
Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt speaks onstage during the 2014 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival at Austin Convention Center on Friday in Austin, Texas.Heather Kennedy / Getty Images Contributor

"We were attacked by the Chinese in 2010 and the NSA in 2013," he said.

"We are pretty sure the information that is inside of Google right now is safe from prying eyes, especially the government," Schmidt said. "We think your data is very safe."

Schmidt and Google Ideas Director Jared Cohen spoke about the intersection of technology and privacy. While Google is working to protect users' search data from spying, Schmidt said that once someone publishes something online, it's never really going away.

"Information is very powerful. It can be used and misused, and you have to respect that," he said.

— Cadie Thompson, CNBC.com

This is a condensed version of a report from CNBC.com. Read the full report.