Chinese hackers have breached the websites of the British Parliament and the Foreign Office, reports the British Guardian citing unnamed sources in the British government.
The Guardian states that in 2006, due to unauthorized access by Chinese hackers, there was a “failure” of part of the system in the House of Commons, and that more recent breaches have not caused major disruptions, but their frequency is concerning. Official British sources did not respond to inquiries about these breaches, and the Foreign Office stated that it does not wish to comment on security-related matters. The American Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that its computer system was exposed to a hacking attack in June, but did not confirm that the Chinese military was behind the breach, as reported in news articles. The Ministry of Defense is subjected to attempts of computer attacks daily and has implemented aggressive response measures to deter these attacks, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman on Tuesday.
He addressed reporters regarding media reports of a hacking attack on the office of Defense Secretary Robert Gates in early 2007, which was allegedly linked to the Chinese military. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing denied on Tuesday the report by the London Financial Times that the Chinese military carried out a hacking attack on the Pentagon, stating that such claims “reflect a Cold War mentality.” The FT quoted a senior Pentagon official who said there is a “high degree of belief” that the attack was carried out by the People’s Liberation Army of China. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman confirmed that the attack occurred in June but refused to identify the origin of the attack. It is often difficult to determine the true origin of a computer system breach and even harder to link the breach to a specific country or government, he said. (H)
