U.S. Experts Track Down Google China Hackers

The Chinese author responsible for code used in recent state-sponsored hacking attacks on Google in China may have been identified by U.S. analysts.

The Chinese government has denied involvement thus far in the hacking attacks that lead to compromising Google's systems, which lead to Google threatening to pull out of China. The U.S. government has taken a roll in asking for the Chinese foreign minister for a probe into the investigation of the matter after the hacking campaign ran its course last month.

The malicious code used in the attack was written to take advantage of flaws in certain versions of Internet Explorer and insert spyware onto vulnerable systems. In the recent discovery by U.S. analysts, it seems that the initial attack on Google was not launched by the man who wrote the malicious code. They have also discovered that he is not a government worker. A team of investigators found out that the launching of the spyware, or malicious code, was traced to two educational institutions in China, one having a close tie to the military.

In light of the recent Chinese cyber-spying campaign, some western experts believe software vulnerabilities have been used to steal commercial and military information. This very-well could be the underlying reason for the attacks but has not been confirmed.

Mischel Kwon, a former U.S. cybersecurity official who now works for RSA Security, said, "We're realizing there are other aspects of this problem beyond the technological and that there are other agencies that need to get involved."

Shanghai’s Jiaotong University and Lanxiang Vocational School are the two educational institutions that a team of U.S. contractors traced the launch of the malicious spyware code. Because Jiatong University has a high level of cyber security, one of the best in the country, it is suggested that the ones responsible could have compromised the schools' computers. Both schools' officials have denied any involvement according to a state-run news agency in China.