Google e-mail accounts compromised by 'Chinese hackers'

BBC News, 1 June 2011

Hackers in China have compromised personal e-mail accounts of hundreds of top US officials, military personnel and journalists, Google has said.

The US company said a campaign to obtain passwords originated in China and was aimed at monitoring e-mail.

Google said its security was not breached but indicated passwords were obtained via fraud or from other sites.

Also targeted were Chinese political activists and officials in other Asian countries, Google said.

"Google detected and has disrupted this campaign to take users' passwords and monitor their emails," the company said on Wednesday.

"We have notified victims and secured their accounts. In addition, we have notified relevant government authorities."

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