WashPost: Diverse group developed codes for Google cyber attack

A diverse group of Chinese hackers who work as security professionals, consultants and temporary contractors for Chinese and American tech companies in China collaborated to develop the codes that led to an attack on Google's infrastructure last year, according to a report today in The Washington Post.

The news follows a New York Times report yesterday that linked the attacks to the prestigious Shanghai Jiaotong University and Lanxiang Vocational School. The Post, citing unnamed sources, said that servers at those schools, as well as other servers, were used to route the attacks and mask the identities of the real attackers.

Sources also told the Post that investigators have narrowed the list of attackers to six individuals, including students who hack for the prestige that goes with it. The hackers who developed the code for the attack did not actually execute the attack, nor did they "nose around" the networks of Google or any of the other companies attacked.

The Chinese government has denied any involvement with the attacks, though the vocational school reportedly has ties to the Chinese military.

Previous coverage:

• Google puts data security first; threatens China pullout, stops censoring results
• Security expert: Chinese authorities supported cyber attacks
• Assessing Google’s showdown with China: Does it make sense?