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Gutierrez Possible Victim Of Chinese Cyber Spying
David Utter
Staff Writer
2008-06-03
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
Whispers about a potential malware compromise of computers used by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez during a trip to China raises suspicions in Washington.
 | | Gutierrez Possible Victim Of Chinese Cyber Spying |  |
To be frank, we would be more astonished by a story that claimed a rival foreign government wasn't engaged in espionage against its visitors from other countries.
Wired's Threat Level said a Commerce Department visit to China by Gutierrez and other Commerce executives returned home with a little something extra last December.
An early gift in observance of the coming New Year celebrations in both countries? Not a chance. Instead, a source for the National Journal claimed first-hand knowledge of a malware incursion against the Commerce delegation.
Federal computers ended up with data-stealing software that could grab data and send it to a location in China. The source also claimed the code used in the Commerce attack showed up in hacks against private sector corporate executives who visited China in recent times.
Gutierrez confirmed to reporters an ongoing investigation into the Chinese incident. No further details were available.
Travelers to China should understand the aggressiveness of that ostensibly-friendly government. Stealing secrets is in China's interests, whether those secrets come from government or private sources. Fully updated operating systems and security software can help; there's no reason to make it easy for an attacker to get in and grab data.
About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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