Google ‘investigating’ employee involvement in cyber attack

10 February 2012

Google ‘investigating’ employee involvement in cyber attack

18 January 2010

Search engine giant probing possible inside help on December security breach, sources claim

Google is investigating the possibility that its own employees played a role in a major cyber attack in December, it has been claimed.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency that the strike may have been instigated by workers at Google’s offices in China. If local reports are to be believed, a number of the search engine's Chinese employees have been placed on leave or denied access to internal networks following last week’s revelation that hackers attempted to breach a number of Gmail accounts.

Google has so far refused to comment on either allegation, while also denying that it is resigned to withdrawing from the Chinese market following its announcement that it will no longer censor its search results, as required by the government.

The December attack, which is said to have affected more than 20 other organisations as well as Google, exploited a security flaw in the Internet Explorer browser, Microsoft conceded last week.

Comments

There are currently no comments on this article

People who read this also read...

Unified communications market to hit $1bn by 2013

A recovery in the world’s economies will encourage a significant upturn in unified communications revenues, according to study

Atos Origin waxes green and cloudy in innovation thrust

As the IT services industry reshapes, French supplier Atos Origin sets out its stall with cloud computing and green IT offerings

Security council

Bracknell Forest Borough Council deployed ‘trace, monitor and destroy’ software to prevent any embarrassing security breaches

Maturing threats

With both enterprise systems and the cybercriminal underground evolving rapidly, safeguarding information is as challenging today as it has ever been, as the Enterprise Security 09 event heard

Germany and France warn against Internet Explorer use

European nations warn users to avoid Microsoft browser after security flaw was exploited in Google cyberattack

White Papers

'Think Lean' When Developing Management System Documentation

Learn how to efficiently and effectively implement a document management system for your organization.

11 Hiring Trends for 2011

In this document, you'll get the insider info you need to give potential employers what they want and beat your competition in 2011. You'll learn about the most valuable certifications and the game-changing skills that can lead to more job security and stability.