n mid-December of 2009, internet giant Google detected a high-level attack targeted at its corporate infrastructure, leading to theft of the company’s intellectual property. About twenty other Silicon Valley companies were also targeted in the attack which originated from China.
Although Google has not directly accused the Chinese government of being directly involved in the cyber attacks, the company has threatened to pull out of the Chinese market and sources say that investigators are looking into the possibility of the attack being backed by Beijing. Meanwhile, the search company is in the process of formulating an agreement with the National Security Agency (NSA) whose help it has enlisted in keeping future intrusions at bay.
Through this tie-up, the spy agency will attempt to evaluate the weak points in Google’s hardware and software systems as well as gauge the sophistication of the adversary so as to understand how the perpetrators got access to the sensitive data. As per cyber laws, every company has the legal authority to reveal as well as conceal information for the purpose of ensuring privacy. Taking advantage of this fact, Google will reportedly share information on the types of malevolent codes used in the attacks, but withhold propriety data and user information. According to the Washington Post, the NSA is reaching out to other government agencies with expertise in cyber defense to help out in the Google investigation.
