Chinese hackers believed to have government links have been conducting wide-ranging electronic surveillance of media companies including The Wall Street Journal, apparently to spy on reporters covering China and other issues, people familiar with the incidents said.
Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. said Thursday that the paper's computer systems had been infiltrated by Chinese hackers, apparently to monitor its China coverage. New York Times disclosed Wednesday night that its flagship newspaper also had been the victim of cyberspying.
Chinese hackers for years have targeted major U.S. media companies with hacking that has penetrated inside newsgathering systems, several people familiar with the response to the cyberattacks said.
Tapping reporters' computers could allow Beijing to identify sources on articles and information about pending stories. Chinese authorities in the past have penalized Chinese nationals who have passed information to foreign reporters.
Journal sources on occasion have become hard to reach after information identifying them was included in emails. However, Western reporters in China long have assumed that authorities are monitoring their communications and act accordingly in sensitive cases. WSJ
FACTS & FIGURES
The Pentagon recently approved a major expansion of its cybersecurity force over the next several years, increasing its size more than fivefold to bolster the nation’s ability to defend critical computer systems and conduct offensive computer operations against foreign adversaries, according to U.S. officials. Washington Post
The U.S. government has grown increasingly concerned about Chinese spying on the government and U.S. corporations, prompting U.S. intelligence agencies to issue a report a year ago calling Chinese hackers from the government and private sector the world's most "active and persistent" perpetrators of industrial spying. WSJ
Media organizations with bureaus in China have believed for years that their computers, phones and conversations were likely monitored on a fairly regular basis by the Chinese. The Gmail account of an Associated Press staffer was broken into in China in 2010. AP
U.S. intelligence officials believe China and Russia are the sources of a significant number of cyber attacks on American companies and government agencies, according to the NY Times.
The U.S. itself has been named in one of the most prominent cyberattacks - Stuxnet - the computer worm that attacked an Iranian nuclear facility. AP
In June, the New York Times reported that U.S. President Barack Obama ordered stepped-up cyber-attacks on Iran's nuclear program months after taking office, significantly expanding America's first sustained use of cyber-weapons. Xinhua
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