Google denies lying over Apps certification

Google yesterday denied Microsoft's allegation that it lied about an important government certification. However, according to people in the know about federal government and its contract and bid procedures, Microsoft had got it right.

Yesterday, Microsoft cited recently-unsealed court documents, including a brief from the Department of Justice (DOJ) that said, "Notwithstanding Google's representations to the public at large, its counsel, the GAO and this Court, it appears that Google's Google Apps for Government does not have FISMA certification."

Federal Information Security Management Act or FISMA, is a mandatory set of security standards that vendors have to comply with while dealing with some federal agencies.

"We did not mislead the court or our customers," David Mihalchik, who heads the strategy and business development for Google's Enterprise team, said in a statement.

"Google Apps received a FISMA security authorisation from the General Services Administration [GAO] in July 2010.

Google Apps for Government is the same system with enhanced security controls that go beyond FISMA requirements," said Mihalchik. "As planned, we're working with GSA (US General Services Administration) to continuously update our documentation with these and other additional enhancements."