CHINA: Hackers Attacks Foreign Journalists' Gmail Accounts

The Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) reported on Jan. 18 that the Google e-mail accounts of at least two foreign journalists have fallen prey to hackers, who are said to have attempted "sophisticated attacks" on the popular online site's security system.

Wire reports said that the hackers were able to change the settings of the journalists' Gmail accounts, which resulted in messages being forwarded to unfamiliar addresses. One of the two journalists, reports further said, is a television reporter of The Associated Press' Beijing bureau.

The incident came in the heels of Google's threat to pull out from China after falling victim to a sophisticated cyber attack on its network where the company said it is no longer willing to conduct self-censorship in its Chinese-language google.cn search engine, reports said. Negotiations between Google and China are still ongoing.

International media watchdog Reporters Without  Borders (RSF), meanwhile, lambasted the reported hacking. In a statement, RSF said it was "deeply disturbed and outraged by cyberattacks on the Google email accounts" of several foreign journalists in Beijing.

"We remind all members that journalists in China have been particular targets of hacker attacks in the last two years," said the FCCC in an advisory to its 400-plus members. "Please be very careful about what links you click on, what email attachments you open, and do run virus checks regularly."

The RSF statement further added: "The hackers who targeted foreign journalists based in Beijing were probably trying to get contact details and information about the human rights activists who talk to the international press."

"Compromising these reporters' communication methods endangers and intimidates their sources and constitutes a serious violation of their privacy, their professional work and their freedom to provide news and information," it added.

In response to the series of cyberattacks on Google's security system, the Chinese government came out with a statement last week saying that foreign Internet companies are welcome but "those offering online services must do so 'in accordance with the law'".