U.S. plans to issue official protest to China over attack on Google - WaPo

[rndmprsn]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/15/AR2010011503917.html

The United States will issue an official protest to the Chinese government over a major espionage attack targeting Google's computer systems and rights activists' e-mail accounts that the search-engine giant said originated in China...

...On Tuesday, in a rare disclosure by a major firm, Google announced that its "corporate infrastructure" had been hacked and its intellectual property stolen. It said that the Gmail accounts of dozens of human rights activists in China, Europe and the United States were also penetrated and noted that other large companies were targeted, as well. Industry sources said 34 firms, including Google, were affected.

Google also said it will no longer filter Internet searches on its Chinese search engine, Google.cn. Although it did not directly accuse China, the Silicon Valley technology titan threatened to pull out of the country if the government does not allow it to operate uncensored. Chinese officials said that their laws ban hacking and that China's Internet is open, although they also defended a policy of keeping certain types of information off the Web in China...

..."You couldn't have picked a worse company to hack if you wanted to not irritate the Americans," said James A. Lewis, a cyber and national security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "They're their favorite child," he said of Google. The firm's chief executive advises President Obama on technology, and its Web applications are seen as the sort of innovation that will drive the new economy.

[BunkerHill24]

1. China plans (but never sais) WTF you doing in Guantanamo Bay?

[SergeStorms]

2. An "official protest". Is that anything like.......

"double secret probation"? WOW! :scared: We'll have them quaking in their sandals with that move. :eyes:

Another useless gesture on the part of the U.S.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. If it doesn't work, then we launch "stern language"

Finally, "frank discussions".

Escalation's a bitch. China, be afraid.

:scared:
:hi:

[votingupstart]

4. i think its more like "the Frowning of a lifetime" kind of like a mall security guard. n/t

[Selatius]

5. We can't do shit to China. They manufacture a ton of our products. They got us good.

If we traded with China and were also fairly self-sufficient as far as manufacturing of consumer goods goes, we would be in a far better position to use leverage against China for such an attack. As it stands, we're very dependent on China's industrial manufacturing capacity to feed our consumer appetite. I will be surprised if we did anything more than issue strongly worded letters of protest to the dictatorship in Beijing.