Last Wendesday, January 30th, our beloved New York Times broke the news that they had been targeted by cyber attackers based in China. The report, ‘Hackers in China Attacked The Times for Last 4 Months‘, detailed how the computer systems in their headquarters had been compromised: corporate passwords for every NYT employee were stolen and used to access the personal computers of 53 employees. The methods, which utilized intricate cloaking tactics, involving IP addresses located within U.S. university campuses, were recognized by computer security experts as being suspiciously similar to other high-profile Chinese cyber-attacks against U.S. organizations.
Through Ministry spokesmen, the Chinese government was quick to decry the accusations of cyberespionage, proclaiming that the accusations were “totally irresponsible” and “groundless”.
But let’s go over some key developments before we start pointing fingers at anyone.
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng will attend NYU Law’s US-Asia Law Institute as a visiting scholar, Professor Jerome Cohen confirmed today. “He’s clear that he’s coming to NYU,” Cohen, co-director of the Institute, told NYU Local in a phone interview today. “He would come here immediately.”
