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The fear that inspired Microsoft in the recent years has come true. Google, initially only the largest search engine in the world, now plans to take on the market of operating systems dominated by Microsoft since the release of the first version of Windows.
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Earlier this week, Google announced that a series of cyber attacks have been directed at their servers in mid-December, 2009. The attacks, considered highly sophisticated even by Google standards originated in the People’s Republic of China and could influence Google to adopt a new strategy in this country, or so they say.

According to Google sources, there were two types attacks targeting their network. One attack was internal and consisted in intellectual property being stolen from the company. Most likely, the theft consisted in source code and technology. Some of you might laugh at how sophisticated this attack really was.

Various voices on the Internet, including Wired.com, described how the attackers infiltrated the Google network by sending e-mails with a malicious PDF attachment to the GMail accounts of a few Google employees that had access to the network! The attackers took advantage of a Zero Day Vulnerability in Adobe Reader to install a trojan on the victim’s computer in the form of a DLL. The sad thing is that although this happened in December, Adobe only recently published a patch. By the way, I highly recommend that you upgrade you Adobe Reader application, or use Foxit PDF as a replacement which is more lightweight than the Adobe application.

The internal attack also targeted several GMail accounts of human rights activists. According to Google sources, only two accounts have been breached. However, the attackers only got access to information about the accounts such as date of creation and to the subject names of several e-mails. The content of the e-mails remained undisclosed.

The external attack was not performed explicitly on the Google network but was directed against it and its users. Several GMail users have been targeted and tricked into revealing their login data by means of phishing. The attackers also took advantage of yet another vulnerability in Internet Explorer. Microsoft said that it only affects IE6 but Elinor Mills says IE7 and 8 are also affected. My advice to all Internet Explorer users: switch to Chrome.

According to Google, these attacks targeted over 30 companies, the main objective being source code theft. Among these companies there are notable names such as Yahoo, Adobe or the antivirus producer – Symantec.

As a response to these attacks, the Internet Giant announced that it will stop censoring search results as required by the communist regime and will discuss the issue with the Chinese Government in the context of the recent attacks. The authorities clearly stated that anyone is welcome to trade in the country but within the restrictions of the law. Considering this fact, I am almost certain that negotiations on the matter of displaying uncensored results will be pointless.

If they won’t reach a consensus with the Chinese authorities, Google even considers the possibility of closing their offices in China and cease to operate in the country. Allow me to laugh at that. Currently holding over 360 million Internet users, China represents a highly attractive market for Internet companies and Google works with money, just like any other corporation and China, with its flourishing economy and huge population is one country than can afford to remain in the communist era.