James Delahunty
3 Jun 2011 1:51
Google halts effort to access content in hundreds of GMail accounts.
Google Inc. revealed earlier this week that an attack on its GMail service originated from Jinan, Shandong province, China. Hackers attempted to break into hundreds of different GMail accounts, held by senior U.S. Government officials, Chinese activists and others.
Google said it detected and disrupted the attempts. "We recently uncovered a campaign to collect user passwords, likely through phishing," Google said on Thursday. "The goal of this effort seems to have been to monitor the contents of these users' emails."
South Korean officials also appeared to be targets of the campaign.
Google's announcement comes a year after it disclosed a cyberattack on its systems in China, an event that led to Google downsizing its presence in the market.
"Investors would like to see Google figure out a way to operate in China, and capitalize on the growth of the country," said Cowen and Co analyst Jim Friedland. "It's been a tough relationship. And this highlights that it continues to be a tough relationship."