Google revealed this week that some of its users were the victim of an online attack. Now, the cyber-battle has heated up and may have far-reaching consequences.
Google alleges that Chinese hackers broke into the e-mails accounts of several of its users located in the U.S., Europe and China. The victims were human rights activists like Tenzin Seldon, who works with students for a free Tibet, and the hackers apparently wanted to disrupt their work.
"Personally, I was extremely startled," Seldon said. "I couldn't believe anyone could hack into my private account."
Google has had a strained relationship in China ever since it started doing business there in 2006. The Chinese government legally forces Google to censor certain search results -- including any searches involving Tianannmen Square. While Google stopped short of accusing the Chinese government of the hack attack, it released this statement:
"These attacks... combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web, have led us to conclude that we are no longer comfortable continuing to censor our results on Google.cn."
Chinese authorities deny any wrongdoing and insist Google must follow the laws of the land. But Google has now threatened to pull out of China entirely.
Experts say it sends a loud warning to all U.S. businesses with ties to China and may cause a serious ripple effect. The White House tells CBS News that it is investigating the attacks and just last week appointed a new coordinator of cyber security operations.
