Chinese hackers hit Wall Street Journal and New York Times
Friday 01 February 2013 09:15
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and the New York Times (NYT) claim hackers have infiltrated their IT systems to monitor the media organisations' coverage of China.
Cyber spying on reporters would enable Chinese authorities to identify sources on articles and information about pending stories, said the
WSJ.
The
NYT reported that Chinese hackers had persistently penetrated its systems in the past four months, getting passwords for its reporters and other employees.
The paper said the attacks on its systems coincided with its
investigative report into claims that the family of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had amassed a multi-billion dollar fortune.
The NYT said the hackers had used methods associated with the Chinese military to monitor the computers of David Barboza, who wrote the report, and one of his predecessors, Jim Yardley.
The NYT said computer security experts had expelled the attackers after tracking them to study their movements and build better defences to block them and prevent them from breaking in again.
China crisis
The hackers installed malware which enabled them to access any computer using the NYT network, steal the password of every employee and access 53 personal computers, mostly outside the NYT offices.
For years, several governments and companies have accused China of carrying out cyber espionage. NYT publisher Dow Jones & Co said attacks related to China coverage were an ongoing issue.
However, Dow Jones & Co said in a statement that the hacking was aimed at monitoring coverage of China and did not appear to be an attempt to gain commercial advantage or steal customer information.
The publisher said it had boosted its network security and was working with authorities and security specialist to protect customers, employees, journalists and sources.
China's foreign ministry dismissed the NYT’s accusations as "groundless" and "totally irresponsible", according to the
BBC.
"China is also a victim of hacking attacks. Chinese laws clearly forbid hacking attacks and we hope relevant parties take a responsible attitude on this issue," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei.
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