Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt wants you to know he's "pretty sure" your data is safe from surveillance.

During a panel discussion at South by Southwest Interactive on March 7, Schmidt stated Google has upgraded its encryption process, which helps secure people's information. Schmidt continued that the company is still continuing to improve the encryption process especially after the National Security Agency (NSA) information leaks courtesy of Edward Snowden.

"We are pretty sure that now that the info inside of Google is safe from prying eyes, including those of the U.S. government," Schmidt said but noted they are still subject to the U.S. Patriot Act and even "secret" courts.

The discussion panel also featured the revelation that a foreign government attacked Google's services.

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

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

The Google executive chairman cautioned people about publishing something online, stating it doesn't vanish from the Internet.

Schmidt joined Google in 2001 as the company's chief executive officer (CEO) until 2011. As executive chairman, Schmidt is responsible for Google's external matters such as government outreach and building partnerships and business relationships.

Schmidt's comments comes after Google released its latest transparency report in November. The report revealed the number of requests for customer data from courts and governments worldwide. Between January and June 2013, Google received approximately 25,900 requests for a user's data. The U.S. requested the most for customer data with 10,918 demands. Of the 10,918 user data requests, Google admitted it produced 83 percent of the data requested.

"Government agencies make requests to Google companies seeking information about Google users accounts or products," noted Google. "In this report, we are generally revealing statistics about demands in criminal investigations. In some cases we may not be able to tell if the demand is for a criminal investigation as opposed to some other purpose. In those situations, we try to include the request in these statistics."

"When we receive such a request, our team reviews the request to make sure it satisfies legal requirements and Google's policies," stated Google. "Generally speaking, for us to comply, the request must be made in writing, signed by an authorized official of the requesting agency and issued under an appropriate law. If we believe a request is overly broad, we'll seek to narrow it. We notify users about legal demands when appropriate, unless prohibited by law or court order."

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