Computer security company Mandiant has released a report that further suggests attacks on Google originating in China are just the tip of the iceberg.
And the research does not paint an optimistic picture of being able to solve the problem any time soon.
While not naming clients, Mandiant argues that the "advanced persistent threat" doesn't affect dozens of companies, as was reported in the wake of the Google revelation, but thousands.
And while not directly implicating the Chinese government, "all we’re saying is that the majority of the data that gets exfiltrated ultimately finds its way to IP addresses in China, and that’s pretty much all anybody knows," Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia told Wired.
The technical details outlined are consistent with other reports about the modus operandi, and how it is significantly different from that employed by typical hackers looking to expose system flaws in order to fix them -- and much more sophisticated.
"They are professionals, and their success rate is impressive," according to the report, which goes on to say that even if you think you've kicked malefactors off your network, you probably haven't, and regardless, they'll be back -- possibly within hours.
Chinese government officials have repeatedly denied any involvement in data attacks on Google or any other organization.
Jackson West finds this all so much more exciting than the leak of Axl Rose's "Chinese Democracy."
