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Chinese Hackers Attack The New York Times

For four months in late 2012 and early 2013, hackers in China attacked The New York Times . The hacking included gaining access to the paper's computer systems and getting employee's passwords. The attacks came at the same time that The New York Times reported on an investigation that Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's relatives had acquired a several billion dollar fortune through business dealings.

The New York Times hired computer security experts to study the hacker's activity. After gathering evidence, the security experts were able to push the hackers out and block them from returning. According to the security experts, no customer data was stolen. The experts believed that the attack was part of a wider computer espionage mission against U.S. news media outlets that report on Chinese leaders and business dealings. In fact, a day after The New York Times reported the incident; The Wall Street Journal revealed in a statement that hackers had infiltrated it, too, "for the apparent purpose of monitoring the newspaper's China coverage."

On February 19, 2013, a 60-page study was released by Mandiant, a U.S. computer security firm, which showed evidence linking Unit 61398, a Chinese military unit, to the groups responsible for a large portion of the recent hacking in the United States. The study, which included digital forensic evidence, didn't prove that the hackers were inside the military unit's headquarters, but did show evidence that they were either inside or very close to Unit 61398.