Chinese ‘hacked French ministry for G20 data’

France was the victim of a spectacular cyber attack at the end of 2010 according to details just released by the government. In the face of the concerted assault in December the French finance ministry closed down 10,000 computers as hackers with Chinese internet addresses tried to gain access to documents concerning the Group of 20 (G20) developed and developing nations, whose members account for 85 percent of total world output.

France heads the G20 until November 2011 (when Mexico assumes control), with President Nicolas Sarkozy determined to bring a touch of Gallic restraint to the global financial and trade system still trying to recover from the economic crisis that began in 2008.

But it seems that some people couldn't wait to see how President Sarkozy's handling of the G20 would unfold and tried to find out for themselves by hacking into the French finance ministry's computers.

"We have leads," budget minister Francois Baroin said in an interview with a French radio station, though he stopped short of pointing the finger at those he believes are responsible. But an unnamed senior French official told French magazine Paris Match: "We noted that a certain amount of the information was redirected to Chinese sites."

Dominique Lamiot, secretary general of the finance and budget ministries, disclosed that more than 100 computers in the ministry's central services division had been "compromised" in the attacks and as a consequence they have strengthened security to prevent further attacks as well as calling in the French Secret Service to investigate the source of the attack.

"A maintenance operation (last weekend) has led to 10,000 computers being taken offline out of the 170,000 which the ministry runs," said Lamiot.

The computers are now operational once more but Patrick Pailloux, director general of the French National Agency for Information Technology Security, couldn't rule out another such attack in the future. "The perpetrators were determined professionals and organised," he told Paris Match, adding: "It is the first attack of this size and scale against the French state."

Though it may be the first such attack launched on the French, cyber attacks are increasing - with China usually suspected of involvement.

In September 2007 the Guardian reported that Chinese hackers working for the People's Liberation Army had attacked computer networks belonging to the British government while in 2009 the Chinese Government denied accusations that it ran a global cyberspy network dubbed 'GhostNet' which, at its peak, compromised hundreds of computers across embassies, banks and Nato ministries.

Of course China is far from the only country flexing its muscles in the new arena of cyber warfare. If we're talking about the hacking activities of "determined professionals", a mention must go to the Stuxnet worm, believed to have been developed by Israeli and US agencies, which has put back the Iranian nuclear programme by years. ·