US lawmakers claim China hacked their computers
12 June 2008
Two US congressmen believe their office computers were hacked from inside China in what may have been an attempt to access lists of dissidents, Reuters reported. The two alleged victims, Frank Wolf and Christopher Smith, Republicans from Virginia and New Jersey respectively, have been active in human rights affairs. Smith, for example, has sponsored legislation that would stop US firms from cooperating with governments that restrict information about human rights and democracy on the internet. Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, the two lawmakers said the computers of other members and at least one committee have also been compromised. In May, it was revealed that US authorities are also investigating whether the content of Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez's laptop computer was secretly copied during his visit to Beijing last December.