2 US lawmakers claim they were hit by Chinese hackers

ahmedvisham · #1 15-06-2008, 03:01 PM

In a new spat over cyber espionage, two US congressmen said their computer networks were compromised by Chinese hackers as they called for stepped-up efforts to boost security.

Representative Frank Wolf of Virginia and Chris Smith of New Jersey called for passage of a resolution urging more protection of sensitive computer networks in view of the incidents.

Wolf said that in August 2006, four computers in his personal office "were compromised by an outside source," allowing hackers to gain information his staff had collected about political dissidents and human rights activists around the world.

"I am aware that computers in the offices of several other members were similarly compromised, as well as a major committee of the House -- the Foreign Affairs Committee," he said.

He said internal House staff and FBI investigators concluded "that the outside sources responsible for this attack came from within the People's Republic of China," adding: "My suspicion is that I was targeted by Chinese sources because of my long history of speaking out about China's abysmal human rights record."

He said his computers were "cleaned" but that he remained "deeply concerned that this institution is not adequately aware of or protected from these types of threats."

In a statement on the House floor Wednesday and released on his website, Smith said he too was victimized.

Smith said that in December 2006 and again in March 2007, his Human Rights Subcommittee's computers were attacked by a virus that according to technical staff "intended to take control of the computers."

"At that time, the IT professionals cleaned the computers and informed my staff that the attacks seemed to come from the People's Republic of China," he said.

"The attackers hacked into files related to China ... While this absolutely doesn't prove that Beijing was behind the attack, it raises very serious concern that it was."

In Beijing, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman dismissed the allegations.

"In recent years, China and the US have had frequent exchanges. You should ask US citizens in China whether their computers or their access to the Internet have been bugged," spokesman Qin Gang said.

"We urge the US not to be paranoid and to do more that mutually benefits bilateral ties. China is a developing nation. Do you think we have that kind of technology I don't believe so."

While a number of US officials and experts have cited Chinese efforts to hack into western computer networks, the Beijing government has denied any knowledge or role in the alleged attacks.

Wolf said he believed that a threat exists to computers in Congress and to members when they travel overseas.

"I have been told that, particularly in countries in which access to information is tightly controlled by the government, members are at risk of having their conversations and information recorded or stolen from their cell phones and Blackberry devices," he added.

"That is why I am here today on the House floor. I am speaking out about the threat of cyber attacks from China and other countries on the entire US government, including our military, because of my deep concern about maintaining the security and integrity of our government."

He said that Congress "should take a lead in protecting our government and indeed our country from the threat posed by cyber espionage activities."

"We cannot afford to look the other way when foreign sources are threatening to compromise our government institutions, our economy, our very way of life through cyber espionage. We cannot sit by and watch," Wolf added.

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