The code used in the now infamous Aurora attack reported by Google has allegedly been linked to a Chinese security consultant who posted the code on an underground hacker forum.
U.S.
analysts have reportedly traced the programming
code
at the center of the cyber-attack on Google back to its author.
According to
the
Financial Times, the code was created by a Chinese "freelance
security consultant." The consultant, who is not a full-time
government worker and is believed not to have taken part in the actual attack,
reportedly posted the code to a hacking forum and described it as
something he was "working on," the Financial Times said.
The code in question was used to target a then-unpatched
vulnerability
in Internet Explorer. Microsoft closed the door on the bug in January.
The discovery follows revelations Feb. 19 that
machines
at two schools in China, Shanghai
Jiaotong University
and the Lanxiang Vocational
School, were used in the attack. Speculation has
centered on a China
connection ever since Google first announced Jan. 12 it had been attacked.
Though Google offered no direct evidence publicly, the company asserted that the
attacks had originated in China
and that there had been repeated attempts by hackers to access the Gmail
accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
Chinese
officials have denied involvement in the cyber-attacks, which affected more
than 30 companies in addition to Google.
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