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Chinese Hackers Have Been Infiltrating NY Times For Four Months
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 31, 2013
Modified Jan 31, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 31, 2013
Modified Jan 31, 2013
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Last night, the NY Times reported that Chinese hackers have waged an assault on the company for the last four months, "infiltrating its computer systems and getting passwords for its reporters and other employees." Based on digital evidence, security experts believe that the hackers were using methods associated with the Chinese military to breach the Times's network.
The Times notes that the hacks "coincided with the reporting for a Times investigation, published online on Oct. 25, that found that the relatives of Wen Jiabao, China’s prime minister, had accumulated a fortune worth several billion dollars through business dealings."
The reporters who were targeted were Shanghai bureau chief David Barboza (who wrote the Wen series) and former Beijing bureau chief Jim Yardley, who is now the South Asia bureau chief in India. Executive editor Jill Abramson said, "Computer security experts found no evidence that sensitive e-mails or files from the reporting of our articles about the Wen family were accessed, downloaded or copied."
It's worth noting that Bloomberg News was also hacked last year after a story about Chinese vice president Xi Jinping and his family's wealth. A Bloomberg News spokesman confirmed that there were hacking attempts but emphasized "no computer systems or computers were compromised." However, the Times's source claims "some employees’ computers were infected."
And Wired points out this is not the first time the Times has been hacked—"In 1998, a group known as HFG — or H4acking for Girl13z — hacked the paper’s web site to protest the arrest of hacker Kevin Mitnick and accuse Times reporter John Markoff of helping to catch him."
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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