Google Investigating Chinese Employees 181
BluePeppers writes "The Guardian is reporting that Google China is investigating its staff about The Incident. '"We're not commenting on rumor and speculation. This is an ongoing investigation and we simply cannot comment on the details," a Google spokeswoman said. Security analysts told Reuters the malicious software or malware used in the attack was a modification of a trojan called Hydraq. A trojan is a hidden program allowing unauthorized access to a computer. The analysts said the sophistication in the attack was in knowing whom to attack, not the malware itself.'"
Spies everywhere (Score:5, Insightful)
And to present the results... (Score:3, Insightful)
After the investigation, of course they will invite every Google China employee to join them in the USA for a presentation of the results...!
Actually, that's the whole investigation. People who have "family obligations" or who are "afraid of airplanes" are the ones to look at!
Re:Spies everywhere (Score:4, Insightful)
trojan definition (Score:0, Insightful)
Thank God you explained what a trojan does. I almost thought I was on a tech website and the community would know that definition.
Re:Spies everywhere (Score:4, Insightful)
And I suspect alot of Google China employees draw a paycheck from the People's Liberation Army and other Chinese Government agencies.
Re:In lieu of? (Score:4, Insightful)
This is Slashdot. Every summary must have at least one grammatical error.
Loose lips sink ships. (Score:5, Insightful)
I bet it was your run of the mill social engineering. Someone on the attacking side befriended someone on the inside and either coaxed the information out, or just waited until they mentioned it in passing. Once they knew who to target, they could then pump this employee to see if the attack was having any effect, from the perspective of an insider.
It could be a Facebook friend, it could be a normal face-to-face friend, or it might be a "swallow" [jezebel.com]. Governments certainly use this method of social engineering, but I would be quite surprised if companies do not do it as well.
Mal-2
and (Score:3, Insightful)
the ultimate atrocity is the poster's use of "it's"?
Re:Spies everywhere (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Spies everywhere (Score:3, Insightful)
USA has no extradition treaties with China so I think they have no obligations to let China judge them.
Trojan (Score:3, Insightful)
A trojan is a hidden program allowing unauthorized access to a computer.
Yes thanks! This is definitely news to the average /. reader. I never knew that!
Re:Spies everywhere (Score:4, Insightful)
If it is proven they broke into computer systems in order to aid a foreign country against the interests of the United States, it can be considered as the crime of treason. (I am assuming they are American citizens).
It's very unlikely that the culprit is American.
If they are citizens of China, they can still be judged on the ground of breaking into a computerized system and on the ground of conspiracy.
Why exactly would they be tried for obeying orders from their government? They might be punished for getting caught, but we won't likely hear about that.
USA has no extradition treaties with China so I think they have no obligations to let China judge them.
Except that the investigation is in Google China, which is in...wait for it...China.
Anything the US gov can do will be diplomatic in nature, and given how closely tied the economies of the US and China are, any diplomatic action the US can take will be largely symbolic. Though there may be plans for a more covert retaliation in the works as we speak, those plans won't likely involve wasting time trying to extradite the hackers/mole/whoever.
Re:In lieu of? (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, you know how well informed those English majors are about engineering topics, right? How could it be any other way with an engineer's usage of the language?
What does this mean for Chinese seeking work? (Score:3, Insightful)
If Google finds anything, this could have serious reprecussions for foreign companies hiring in China and Chinese students seeking green cards/employment in the US, especially in high-tech areas. Does anyone else think that mandatory background checks might be put in place to screen candidates, beyond simply assessing technical skills?
If so, it's a good time to be Indian or Taiwanese/Korean, if you're competing with Chinese candidates.
Though I do hope if this doesn't result in hiring discrimination against Chinese candidates; most of them are bright cookies, and there may come a day when US tech companies need them more than they need us.
Re:Spies everywhere (Score:2, Insightful)
Google should also check where all their laptops were manufactured. And make sure each BIOS is clean.
Re:Spies everywhere (Score:4, Insightful)
I have mod points, but I don't see the "-5 ethnocentric" choice. That's the whole problem with so many posts in so many articles. People fail to realize that the stories are often global in nature. Think outside the box. Think inside the globe. The world doesn't end at America's coastlines.
Re:Trojan (Score:3, Insightful)
The lesson from the Trojan horse should have been "beware of gifts bearing Greeks"!
Re:Spies everywhere (Score:3, Insightful)