Chinese government denies participation in Google hacking incident

In a concerning development, Google revealed that it had suffered an attack targeting specific hosted email accounts of government officials, political activists, journalists, military personnel, and officials in several Asian countries, primarily South Korea. The nature of the attack suggests that the perpetrators wanted to read the users' emails, not steal money.

The attack originated in China's Jinan province, according to Google. The phishing scam involved an email that appeared to be from a known contact, inviting email users to enter their account login details, which would then be stolen. Google detected and disrupted the campaign to take users' passwords and monitor their emails.

This incident follows a series of information security attacks that seem to be a growing feature of the conflict between North and South Korea. Last month, the South accused the North of a cyber attack on one of its largest banks. Information security attacks have also been linked to China, with the identified targets of the suspected Chinese government-linked cyberattacks on South Korean targets in recent months including critical infrastructure such as hospitals and energy suppliers.

Observers have questioned how it would be possible for North Korea, whose technological infrastructure lags much of the rest of the world, to launch such a sophisticated attack. However, a North Korean defector told a cyber security conference in Seoul that North Korea is rapidly growing its cyber warfare capabilities.

Meanwhile, the Google incident comes at a time when the Pentagon is ready to categorize cyber attacks as acts of war, possibly opening the door for a military response to cyber attacks. A military official was quoted in the Wall Street Journal saying, "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks."

China's foreign minister Hong Lei denies any involvement of the Chinese government in the successful hack on Google's hosted email service. Hong Lei also stated that the claim that the Chinese government supports hacking attacks is a "total fabrication" with ulterior motives. However, South Korean targets were included in the attack, which is notable given that previous cyber attacks linked to the Chinese government have predominantly targeted Tibetan independence activists.

In a related development, the North is offering talented young computer experts the opportunity to study abroad to increase their skills. This move could potentially strengthen North Korea's cyber warfare capabilities, adding another layer of complexity to the already tense geopolitical landscape.

Google notified victims and secured their accounts following the detection of the attack. The attack on Google's hosted email service is a stark reminder of the increasing threat of cyber warfare and the need for robust cybersecurity measures.

In a related incident, Eric Grosse, the engineering director of Google's security team, stated that the attack affected the personal Gmail accounts of hundreds of users, including senior U.S. government officials, Chinese political activists, and journalists. According to Ashar Aziz, CEO of security company FireEye, the democracy activists targeted in the cyber attack Google suffered in 2009 referred to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama himself.

As tensions continue to mount between North and South Korea, and between China and the West, the potential for a cyber war looms large. The recent attacks on Google and South Korean infrastructure serve as a grim reminder of the need for vigilance and strong cybersecurity measures in the face of growing threats.