NYT, WSJ Report Computers Hacked From China

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The New York Times on Thursday morning detailed how computers of 53 of its staffers were infiltrated by hackers originating in China, after the Times was threatened by Chinese government officials that the newspaper’s investigation into the wealth of relatives of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao would “have consequences.” The Times said that it had been the victim of hacking attempts for four months, but that “no consumer data” was stolen and that the hackers had since been blocked. 

Hours later, on Thursday at around 4 p.m. EST, The Wall Street Journal reported it was the victim of hacks originating in China, which appeared to be designed to spy on the Journal’s coverage of the nation. As a spokesperson for Journal parent company Dow Jones said in the report: “Evidence shows that infiltration efforts target the monitoring of the Journal’s coverage of China, and are not an attempt to gain commercial advantage or to misappropriate customer information.” 

The Times story noted that Bloomberg News had been hacked from China after publishing a story in June about the wealth of relatives of Xi Jinping, China’s vice president, who has since assumed the title of general secretary of the Communist Party and should be named president in March. 

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