Germany Furious Over Chinese Spy Hackers

Berlin government computers infected with espionage programs
By Heather McPherson,  Newser User
Posted Aug 27, 2007 5:52 AM CDT
Germany Furious Over Chinese Spy Hackers
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, is escorted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao upon arrival at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday, Aug. 27, 2007. Merkel met with Chinese leaders Monday on the first leg of a weeklong Asian tour, with climate change, human rights and economic ties...   (Associated Press)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel kicked off her Chinese summit today amid highly charged reports in der Spiegel that the Chinese have been spying on the German government by hacking into computers in several German ministries. Scores of official computers are said to have been infected with spyware concealed in PowerPoint and Microsoft Word programs.

Information was taken daily by hackers under the direction of the Chinese military, redirected via computers in South Korea to disguise their tracks, der Spiegel claims. The spying was discovered in May, but became a political hot potato when it was made public just hours before Merkel left for Beijing. (More Germany stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X