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Google is releasing information about a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack” on their corporate infrastructure that occurred last month. The attack originated in China and resulted in the “theft of intellectual property from Google.” In light of the attack Google is making sweeping changes to its Chinese operations.
Google is releasing some information about these attacks to the public. The company says that a minimal amount of user information was compromised, but has come to the alarming conclusion that the attacks were targeting the information of Chinese human rights activists. Google found that these attacks were not just going after Google’s data, but were also targeting at least twenty other major companies spanning sectors including Internet, finance, chemicals, and more. Google has also discovered that phishing attacks have been used to compromise the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists around the world.
In light of the attacks, and after attempts by the Chinese government to further restrict free speech on the web, Google has decided it will deploy a fully uncensored version of its search engine in China. This is a major change: since January 2006, Google has made concessions to the Chinese government and offered a censored (and highly controversial) version of its search engine at Google.cn. Google isn’t playing that game any longer. Should the Chinese government decide that an uncensored engine is illegal, then Google may cease operations in China entirely. We have included Google’s blog posts about the decision in their entirety below.
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 interested 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
Here’s a second post, from the Google Enterprise Blog:
Many corporations and consumers regularly come under cyber attack, and Google is no exception. We recently detected a cyber attack targeting our infrastructure and that of at least 20 other publicly listed companies. This incident was particularly notable for its high degree of sophistication. We believe Google Apps and related customer data were not affected by this incident. Please read more about our public response on the Official Google Blog.
This attack may understandably raise some questions, so we wanted to take this opportunity to share some additional information and assure you that Google is introducing additional security measures to help ensure the safety of your data.
This was not an assault on cloud computing. It was an attack on the technology infrastructure of major corporations in sectors as diverse as finance, technology, media, and chemical. The route the attackers used was malicious software used to infect personal computers. Any computer connected to the Internet can fall victim to such attacks. While some intellectual property on our corporate network was compromised, we believe our customer cloud-based data remains secure.
While any company can be subject to such an attack, those who use our cloud services benefit from our data security capabilities. At Google, we invest massive amounts of time and money in security. Nothing is more important to us. Our response to this attack shows that we are dedicated to protecting the businesses and users who have entrusted us with their sensitive email and document information. We are telling you this because we are committed to transparency, accountability, and maintaining your trust.
Posted by Dave Girouard, President, Google Enterprise
Whole Foods Markets (WFMI) CEO John Mackey (pictured), unsurprisingly, is passionate about health. Leading the country's largest and most respected chain of natural groceries, he's often credited with bringing natural-foods stores to the mainstream. On a personal note, he has been a vegan for many years and has adopted a diet free of vegetable oils, sugars and almost any processed food. So when he launched a plan to give his employees discounts on health insurance if they maintained lower readings for blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index, it should have barely made a blip in the annals of corporate wellness.
But Mackey's plan is drawing fire, in part because his wellness program, some charge, comes off as heavy-handed and focuses too much on what have been called “arbitrary” measures such as body mass index (BMI) — or essentially how fat we are. Others say the plan is taking criticism simply because of Mackey's outspokenness on health.
Most famously, he wrote an op-ed blasting the U.S. health care reform effort in The Wall Street Journal in August, 2009. In the piece, he called the reform bill “Obamacare” and “a massive new health care entitlement.” He suggested the government instead adopt a series of reforms designed to encourage companies to provide health care for their employees. Among them, he suggested tax-free status for all health care premiums, fewer coverage mandates and other changes.
Finally, he said government should make it easy for taxpayers to give money to charities to cover the uninsured. In conclusion, he wrote, “We are all responsible for our own lives and our own health. We should … use our freedom to make wise lifestyle choices that will protect our health.”
Employee Biometric Screenings
Mackey's new health insurance discounts — in his words “empowering and fun for employees who enjoy a challenge” — fit right in with his corporation-knows-best attitude. Those who want to take part can undergo biometric screening, which will determine what discount level they'll receive: Bronze, silver, gold or platinum. The maximum discount is 30%, and to qualify, employees must have a BMI of less than 24, cholesterol levels below 150 mg/dL and blood pressure of 110/70.
Those with a BMI over 30 would not qualify for the program at all. They would, of course, still be eligible for health insurance — just without an extra discount. The bronze level provides a 22% discount.
For any other CEO, these initiatives might have passed with little notice. Corporate wellness programs have become a given, with discounts on gym memberships and cheery marketing for healthy options in corporate cafeterias. Many company executives have made news with far more shocking employee health tactics, including weight-loss contests and quit-smoking support groups. A few have even refused employment to smokers and told existing employees to quit, or lose a job.
The Peacock CEO
By comparison, Mackey's moves hardly seem controversial. But this is Mackey, the rare peacock of a CEO. His outsize personality, so politically at odds with the majority of his customer base, doesn't just invite, but begs, response from liberal media outlets. So they seize on the news, spinning it into the controversy they expect from a man like Mackey. The Village Voice headline proclaims, “Whole Foods' John Mackey Finds a New Way to Antagonize Customers,” pointing out, “the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance is not amused.”
At The Big Money, Dan Mitchell doesn't like the plan, calling the choice of BMI, blood pressure and cholesterol “arbitrary,” a bad way to measure overall health. He worries that “the inevitable conclusion from this: Whole Foods theoretically would give discounts to near-death anorexics, who would be judged 'healthier' than their larger counterparts.” He suggests Whole Foods provide a discount for healthy grocery items for all employees.
Judging from the details of the Whole Foods wellness program, Mackey, it seems, knows best which lifestyle choices are good for health. What he doesn't know so well, is how to communicate his wisdom to the sort of person who's likely to work for, or shop at, Whole Foods. He once famously criticized his own company's stores for selling “junk food,” for instance, getting a lot of flak from his stakeholders.
Boycotts and “Buycotts”
Mackey was also surprised by the firestorm kicked up by his op-ed criticizing the reform effort in the Journal. In reaction, groups of liberal and conservative Whole Foods shoppers staged simultaneous boycotts and “buycotts,” which had no discernible effect on Whole Foods sales, but had a quite far-reaching effect on the talking points of conservative pundits in the first few weeks of September 2009.
Michelle Malkin, for instance, encouraged her readers to “buy a few Whole Foods items” in order to stand up for Mackey's opposition for health care, “I think it's worth it.” Malkin isn't, however, the prototypical Whole Foods shopper, nor, for that matter, the prototypical employee.
This is a company that encourages the sort of autonomous, bottom-up store organization that would seem more at home in the Socialist Party than the Republican Party. Lower-level employees help select and evaluate their bosses, even having a say on the store's product mix. Mackey pays himself a dollar a year. No executive makes more than 19 times the average employee's wage of $16.50 an hour.
“Right-Wing Hippie”
On the other hand? Mackey is as far from the left as you can get. He believes that corporations — and not governments or nonprofits — are the best way to provide for the well-being of the people. Companies should make enormous profits to put them to use for the betterment of humanity, he believes.
Says Nick Paumgarten in this New Yorker profile of Mackey: “The right-wing hippie is a rare bird.” And this right-wing hippie is simply roosting in his favorite nest with his latest plan. It's not even the first time he's offered inducements for his employees to be more healthy. His company conducts a three-month-long contest each year with prizes for the team whose members exercise and use mass transit the most.
Paumgarten concludes: “It sometimes sounds as if he believed that, if every company had him at the helm, there would be no need for unions or health care reform, and that therefore every company should have someone like him, and that therefore there should be no unions or health care reform.”
Saving Employees From Themselves?
That, in essence, seems to be the inspiration behind the latest Whole Foods wellness plan. It's myopic, paternalistic and with a generosity of intention that belies its know-it-all spirit.
Mackey thinks he's saving his employees from themselves. In reality, he's just giving a little bonus to those who are already most like himself — making employees in his own image a little tiny bit richer. It's not quite a God complex. But it's a nice, slim, start.
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