Insiders at Google China may have helped with attacks

Wednesday 20 January 2010 | By Heidi Scott, Gosh! Media Copywriter

Tags: Google, IE, Microsoft, Privacy, Security

According to reports from Reuters on Monday, Internet giant Google is investigating whether some employees in its China office were implicated in the attacks against it and other US companies in mid-December.

Google suffered a number of attacks on its network, which it described as "sophisticated". They originated in China and also reportedly targeted some 30 other companies including Yahoo, Symantec, Juniper Networks, Dow Chemical and Northrop Grumman.

As a result, Google said it would stop censoring its web search results in China, the world's biggest Internet market, and also threatened to pull out of the country entirely.

Local media in China apparently reported that some Google employees were denied access to internal networks, some were put on leave and others were transferred to other Google offices in the Asia Pacific region. In response to press reports, a Google spokeswoman said, "We're not commenting on rumor and speculation. This is an ongoing investigation, and we simply cannot comment on the details."

According to security analysts, the malicious software (malware) used in the attacks was a modification of a Trojan called Hydraq (a Trojan is malware that, once it is inside a PC, allows someone unauthorised access).

To gain access to computers on Google's network, it is believed that the attackers used software that exploits a hole in Internet Explorer, something that Microsoft admitted late last week. Exploit code for the hole is now available on the Internet for IE 6, which was the version targeted in the Google attacks. Microsoft has advised customers using IE 6 or 7 to upgrade immediately to IE 8.

French and German authorities have urged the public to avoid using Internet Explorer until a patch is released to fix the hole. According to Telegraph.co.uk today, the British Government has decided not issue a similar warning against using IE, preferring instead to refer anyone with concerns about cyber security to getsafeonline.org.

Google said on Monday that it had contacted the Chinese government last week. "We are going to have talks with them in the coming few days," the company said. The Chinese authorities have tried to play down Google's threat to quit, although still insisting that all foreign companies – including Google – must abide by Chinese law.

The issue is another rather ugly chapter in the feisty relationship between China and the US. It adds further strain to relations after spats over exchange rates, protectionism, American arms sales to Taiwan and Chinese cyber-spying. Washington said it was going to issue a diplomatic note to Beijing, formally requesting an explanation for the attacks. In addition, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is expected to deliver "a major policy address on Internet freedom" in Washington DC on Thursday.

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