China vs. Google (basic Google press release, with associated bombshells in civil language.
The basics are that it appears as if China/Chinese hackers were caught trying to hack the google accounts of Chinese dissidents and their sympathizers, as well as attemptint to steal Google source code.
And the State Department's response:
Some commentary and analysis:Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State wrote:We have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious concerns and questions. We look to the Chinese government for an explanation. The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy. I will be giving an address next week on the centrality of internet freedom in the 21st century, and we will have further comment on this matter as the facts become clear.
Assessing Google's showdown with China: Does it make sense?:
The Google news: China enters its Bush-Cheney era:The key points (Techmeme):
* The attack was coordinated and focused on 20 large companies and some appear to be confirming that they were also involved.
* The aim of this attack was to get the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
* The attack also focused on U.S., China and Europe-based Gmail accounts that supported human rights in China.
* Google is way public about this attack and its reaction to them.
* Google says it won’t continue to censor search results and may just shut down operations in China.
Reading all of this laid out in a blog post can be summed up in one word: Wow.
Google detonates the China corporate communications script:- The significance for Google is of the "last straw" variety. For years, the company has struggled to maintain the right path in China...
...if a major U.S. company -- indeed, Google has been ranked the #1 brand in the world -- has concluded that, in effect, it must break diplomatic relations with China because its policies are too repressive and intrusive to make peace with, that is a significant judgment.
In an era where there are international corporations which are more powerful than some nations and information can be king, the largest country in the world has attacked the largest information provider in the world.The first half of the post discusses alleged hacking attempts on Google, apparently with the aims of both recovering Google source code and accessing the Gmail accounts of dissidents. But the second half of the post is more interesting.