Ft. Meade, Md.
– Plagued by a series of sophisticated hacking attacks in China, Internet
search giant Google (NASD: GOOG) has turned to the National Security Agency (NSA) for help,
The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Under a deal still being finalized,
the two organizations would share key information — not including specific
user searches or email accounts — in an effort to analyze the attacks and
build better defenses for the future, according to people familiar with the
situation.
Google announced last month that it is considering pulling out of China following
what it called a "highly sophisticated and targeted" hack into the
Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
The company said that the
accounts of dozens of activists had been "routinely" accessed by
third parties, either through malware or phishing scams.
The Post reported that
Google approached the NSA shortly after the attacks, and has since been
attempting to negotiate an agreement.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u9u7r
(Washington Post)
