Gmail Accounts Of Foreign Journalists In China Attacked

An association of journalists based in Beijing said reporters have recently had their Google Gmail accounts hijacked.

In a statement, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) stopped short of accusing the Chinese government or any other entity of taking part in the hijacking, but warned members to be mindful of security.

“Foreign correspondents in a few bureaus in Beijing have recently discovered that their Gmail accounts had been hijacked,” the group said. “Their emails were being forwarded to a stranger’s address.”

When Google first announced on 12 Jan. that it had been the victim of a cyber-attack, it noted there had also been repeated attempts to access Gmail accounts belonging to Chinese human rights activists.

“We remind all members that journalists in China have been particular targets of hacker attacks in the last two years,” the group said in the statement. “Please be very careful about what links you click on, what email attachments you open, and do run virus checks regularly.”

The FCCC urged users to be careful what links they click on and attachments they open. It also advises members to change passwords and keep up-to-date with all software patches.