A Nail In His Place

Lifehacker

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By Ellen Nakashima, Steven Mufson and John Pomfret
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Google said Tuesday that it may pull out of China because of a sophisticated computer network attack originating there and targeting its e-mail service and corporate infrastructure, a threat that could rattle U.S.-China relations, as well as China’s business community.

The company said it has evidence to suggest that “a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists,” but it said that at least 20 other large companies, including finance, media and chemical firms, have been the targets of similar attacks.

Google said it discovered the attack in December.  “It’s clear that this attack was so pervasive and so essential to the core of Google’s intellectual property that only in such a situation would they contemplate pulling the plug on their entire business model in China,” said James Mulvenon, a China cyber expert with Defense Group Inc.

Congressional sources said the other companies include Adobe and possibly Northrop Grumman and Dow Chemical.  Industry sources said the attacks were even broader, affecting 34 firms.  The hackers directed the attacks on the companies through

The Rest of the Story:  Google threatens to leave China.