However, Google did not name any names, and it did not actually say that the attacks were made by people acting on the behalf of the Chinese government.
Most large companies "face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis," as Google said, but so far none of them seem to have come forward.
Adobe said in a blog post that it was investigating a "coordinated attack against corporate network systems managed by Adobe and other companies", and the timing suggests it could well be related to the attacks on Google.
Bloomberg reported that Yahoo "was targeted by a Chinese attack similar to the one that affected Google Inc, according to a person familiar with the matter", but this has not been confirmed. The company said: "Yahoo does not generally disclose that type of information, but we take security very seriously and we take appropriate action in the event of any kind of breach."
The Washington Post, reporting a "vast espionage campaign", claimed that "at least 34 companies – including Yahoo, Symantec, Adobe, Northrop Grumman and Dow Chemical – were attacked, according to congressional and industry sources."
The attacks seem to have been performed by "spear phishing" – that is, targeting company employees with infected email attachments. According to a widely-reported statement by Eli Jellenc, head of international cyber intelligence at Verisign-owned iDefense: "The attack bears significant resemblance to a July 2009 attack in which attackers launched targeted email campaigns against approximately 100 IT-focused companies."
This type of attack has been part of the computer scene for several years, and Chinese involvement has often been suspected. It would be surprising if Google had not been attacked before. In this case, it's not the attack but the response that is unusual.
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