Thursday, June 2, 2011

Google Exposes Gmail Hacking from China


Google has revealed another bout of China-based Internet hacking--this time targeting the personal Gmail accounts of senior U.S. officials, Chinese activists, and journalists.

Google says on their official blog that the attacks originated from Jinan City. It's home to one of the six technical offices of China's People's Liberation Army, and a technical college linked to a hacking episode on Google last year.

Google says the Chinese hackers tried to use malware and phishing scams to steal email passwords of hundreds of Gmail users. The aim: to read and forward the victims' email messages.

Google says they've detected and disrupted the campaign.



Google did not specifically name the Chinese government as being behind it. But they did blame the government in a similar case of Gmail interference back in March.

U.S. authorities, including the FBI, are investigating this latest incident. The White House says they don't believe any official U.S. government email accounts have been hacked.