Law Firm Suing China Hit By Cyber Attack - by Thomas Claburn

Last week, Santa Barbara, Calif.-based CYBERsitter sued the People's Republic of China, the two Chinese software makers, and seven computer manufacturers for distributing Web filtering software known as Green Dam with allegedly stolen code. This week, the law firm representing the company said that it had been targeted in a cyber attack from China.

In a phone interview, Elliot B. Gipson of Gipson Hoffman & Pancione described what amounts to a spear-phishing attack -- the same technique used against Google in China. "They were e-mails targeted at individuals in our law firm that were made to appears as if they were coming from other individuals at our law firm," he said. "They attempted to get the target to click on a link or attachment."

The firm's initial investigation has shown that at least some of the e-mail messages originated in China and that some of the malware payloads were on servers in China. The attacks have been reported to the FBI and members of the House Intelligence Committee.

For more: Law Firm Suing China Hit By Cyber Attack -- InformationWeek