Major news organizations and journalists are under attack, a new report from Google researchers claims.
Speaking on Friday at the Black Hat hackers conference in Singapore, Google researchers Shane Huntley and Morgan Marquis-Boire reported that 21 of the top-25 news organizations in the world have been targeted by hackers. Those hackers, the researchers believe, are sponsored by foreign governments seeking information.
Reuters earlier reported on the research.
State-sponsored hacking has taken on a life of its own over the last several years. Several countries around the world, including the US, China, and Russia, are believed to be engaging in hacking to gain information. That certain state-sponsored hackers have broadened their scope to journalists is perhaps not surprising, given the information many top journalists have on companies and government figures.
According to the Google researchers, several news organizations have been successfully hacked in the last year. Huntley mentioned one such event, which saw a news outlet hacked by sending a fake questionnaire over e-mail to journalists.
The main thrust of the hacks on news organizations has so far come through e-mail, Google says, but believes that it's just "the tip of the iceberg" as state-sponsored hackers find other means to target journalists.
For its part, Google says that it monitors state-sponsored attacks and immediately warns those who might have fallen victim to a hacking attempt. It's not clear how other e-mail services monitor attacks and handle responses.
Google shares are up 1.6 percent in early trading on Friday to $1,131.57.
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