北京时间1月13日早间消息,Google在其官方博客上宣布,该公司不愿再对其中国版搜索引擎Google.cn的搜索结果进行审查,并承认这项决定可能意味着Google.cn将不得不关闭。
作者是Google高级副总裁、公司发展和首席法律官David Drummond,文章是“A new approach to China”,主要谈及谷歌目前对于中国运营的看法及考虑。文末指出,
“Google认为不应当继续监控Google.cn的搜索结果…这很有可能意味着将会关闭”
海外媒体如下报道:谷歌12日表示,有证据显示,一个针对中国异议人士的GMAIL电子邮件帐号的网络攻击可能是源于中国。谷歌表示,如果属实将可能考虑退出中国市场。
谷歌目前正与中国官方交涉,提出取消google.cn (符合中国对于新闻内容检查制度而制定的网站服务)并恢复google.com的服务,如果交涉失败,将考虑退出中国市场。
谷歌发言人表示,网络袭击是在12月发现的,但是调查目前显示,攻击并不成功。目前只有两个Gmail帐户似乎已被访问,而这一活动仅限于帐户信息,如日期及创建帐号的信息,但应未涉及电子邮件内容。至少有20多家大公司也同样受到此类攻击。这些公司所在行业包括金融、科技、媒体、化工等。
谷歌称,中国是少数被认为具有较强网络攻击力的国家之一,不过美国官员尚未公开指责中国,其原因是很难确定攻击背后发起者。不过,针对中国人权活动者的攻击已在增长,中国政府及其大量代理已成怀疑对象。
谷歌13日在其官方博客上宣布,考虑关闭中国运营及网站Google.cn。谷歌高级副总裁、公司发展和首席法律官David Drummond在谷歌官方博客上发表文章“A new approach to China”,谈及谷歌目前对于中国运营的看法及考虑。
原文如下:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-approach-to-china.html
A new approach to China
1/12/2010 03:00:00 PM
Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security incident--albeit a significant one--was something quite different.
First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses--including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors--have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant U.S. authorities.
Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Based on our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails themselves.
Third, as part of this investigation but independent of the attack on Google, we have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties. These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users' computers.
We have already used information gained from this attack to make infrastructure and architectural improvements that enhance security for Google and for our users. In terms of individual users, we would advise people to deploy reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on their computers, to install patches for their operating systems and to update their web browsers. Always be cautious when clicking on links appearing in instant messages and emails, or when asked to share personal information like passwords online. You can read more here about our cyber-security recommendations. People wanting to learn more about these kinds of attacks can read this U.S. government report (PDF), Nart Villeneuve's blog and this presentation on the GhostNet spying incident.
We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of speech. In the last two decades, China's economic reform programs and its citizens' entrepreneurial flair have lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of poverty. Indeed, this great nation is at the heart of much economic progress and development in the world today.
We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the time we made clear that "we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider our approach to China."
These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered--combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web--have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.
The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised.
Posted by David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer
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