When Google and 30 other large U.S. corporations became the target of an elaborate computer attack, observers speculated that China’s government was behind the hacking. It turns out that this speculation may have been spot on.

 

A secret cable transmitted from the U.S. embassy in Beijing to Washington says a “well-placed” source told American diplomats that Chinese officials coordinated the attack on Google. “According to our contact, the closely held operations were directed at the Politburo Standing Committee level,” reads the cable.

 

According to the cable, “Politburo Standing Committee member Li Changchun recently discovered that Google’s worldwide site is uncensored, and is capable of Chinese language searches and search results. Li allegedly entered his own name and found results critical of him.” Li is China’s leading official in charge of propaganda.

 

Following the computer attack, Google officials said hackers had obtained “significant” intellectual property, and that the intrusions originated in China. But the company stopped short of implicating the government.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Vast Hacking by a China Fearful of the Web (by James Glanz and John Markoff, New York Times)

Viewing cable 09BEIJING1336 (WikiLeaks)