By Brad
Via CNet, word has it that after fights over censorship — and a major cyber attack — Google is preparing to pull out of China:
After months of negotiations over whether it can run Google.cn with or without restrictions, it seemed that Google was getting ready to make a decision in the near-term future. However, according to a Financial Times report last week, Google is now “99.9 percent” certain that it will shut down Google.cn.
The rumored date for Google’s departure is April 10.
Update, courtesy of Ars Technica:
Google has officially stopped censoring search results in China, but in a somewhat roundabout way. Google.cn no longer works as a search portal—instead, visitors are being directed to Google’s service based out of Hong Kong, where taboo topics are not regulated by the Chinese government.
Whether China will simply block Internet users in the mainland from accessing Google Hong Kong remains to be seen.
By Brad
Earlier this week, Google announced it and other companies had been victims of a major cyber attack from China. Today the LA Times looks at what has become a major problem:
The attacks against the U.S. are ramping up, according to the congressional U.S.-China commission, which noted in October that Chinese espionage was “straining the U.S. capacity to respond.”
The report focused on an attack on one company, concluding that it was supported and possibly choreographed by the Chinese government. The report also alleged that China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army, is responsible for aspects of cyber spying and has created cyber warfare units.
By Brad
Last month, the Obama administration announced it was creating a national “Cyber Czar” to oversee efforts to fight cyber attacks. Now the United Kingdom is following suit, creating a new Office of Cyber Security. Reports ZDNet:
The Office of Cyber Security (OCS), dedicated to protecting Britain’s IT infrastructure, will be created in line with a model proposed — and in part practised by — the US, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday. The OCS will have charge of a cross-government programme of work, while a multi-agency Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC), based at GCHQ in Cheltenham, will coordinate the protection of critical IT systems.
As well as cyber-defence and cyberattack coordination, the OCS will act as a conduit for information security collaboration between government and industry experts.
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