Fallout From Cyber Attack Spreads

The fallout from an alleged hacker attack against Google Inc. and others continued to spread, as Google moved to investigate whether any of its employees were involved and rival Yahoo Inc. was reprimanded by its Chinese partner over its response to the incident.

Google is investigating whether any of its employees in China played a role in a massive cyber attack, according to people familiar with the matter. The attack, which Google said it traced back to China, targeted the search giant and 34 other companies, according to Internet security experts.

People familiar with the matter say Yahoo was among the companies targeted in the attack. Alibaba slammed Yahoo for its public support of Google in the conflict. "Yahoo's statement that it is 'aligned' with the position Google took last week was reckless, given the lack of facts in evidence," an Alibaba spokesman said. Yahoo responded that its earlier remarks condemned Internet attacks, not the Chinese government. "Yahoo condemns all cyber attacks, regardless of origin or purpose," said a Yahoo spokeswoman.

Separately, on Monday, the Foreign Correspondents Club of China said some of its members' Google Gmail accounts had been hijacked and forwarded to an unknown address. Google said last week that while investigating the attack against its corporate networks, it noticed that some Gmail accounts that belonged to human rights activists had been "routinely accessed" by third parties, but it is unclear whether the incidents are related.

Meanwhile, India's national security advisor, M.K. Narayanan, said he suspects Chinese hackers recently attempted to gain access to Indian government information.