Google could pull out of China

 

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Posted on 13 Jan 2010 at 13:10

Late last night, Google released some information on what it described as "a highly sophisticated and targeted attack" on its corporate infrastructure last month, originating from China.

The search giant said that the attack resulted in "the theft of intellectual property from Google." In its investigation into the attack, Google found that at least 20 other large public companies in a variety of sectors, including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical, were similarly targeted.

That's not all though, because the attack's primary target wasn't either of these; instead, it was to break into the Google Mail accounts of known Chinese human rights activists.

David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, said that "a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Google Mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists."

Drummond went onto say that Google's investigations found that only two accounts had been accessed, but the attackers didn't manage to read the contents of email in the accounts. The only information the attackers acquired was the date the account was set up and email subject lines.

Google stopped short of directly accusing the Chinese government, but said it would no longer censor the results on Google.cn as a result of the attacks. If the Chinese government deems this to be illegal, the internet giant said it will close the site and its Chinese offices.

Hilary Clinton, US Secretary of State, said: "We have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious concerns and questions. We look to the Chinese government for an explanation. The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy."

Chinese rival Baidu, which accounts for more than 60 per cent of all Chinese searches, said the move was "hypocritical" and financially motivated, according to BBC News. We'll see how this one plays out, but it could have wider repercussions for the way international companies interact with China.

Author: Tim Smalley