Google China hack traced to schools

Today's assignment...

The recent hacks on Google and other corporations in China emanated from a school and  university in China, the New York Times reported.

According to the paper's sources, the schools involved are Shanghai Jiaotong University and the Lanxiang Vocational School. Investigators think the attacks may have started as early as April 2009, the report states. They also say the vocational school has links to the Chinese military.

Google announced on January 12 that it had faced a "highly sophisticated and targeted attack" in mid-December, that it thought came from inside China. More than 20 other companies were also targeted. Google alleged that the hackers were trying to access the Gmail accounts of Chinese dissidents.

Google has called in the National Security Agency to investigate but has made no formal comment as yet.