Google vs. China

Wow... when I was sifting through blog updates on Google Reader this morning, this story shocked me. I hadn't had my coffee yet, so I had to rub my bleary eyes and read it again.

Google released a blog post about four hours ago titled A New Approach to China. Google reports on 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."

What was it? A far-ranging attack on more than twenty companies that appeared to target Chinese human rights activists. Google's investigation also uncovered routine attempts to access the e-mail accounts of US, European, and Chinese supporters of human rights in China. Google doesn't come out and say it directly, but the conclusion is obvious: the Chinese government is responsible. In light of these attacks and China's continuing censorship, Google has decided to reevaluate its willingness to operate in the country. It will work with the Chinese government to provide an unfiltered search engine. If negotiations fail, Google may leave China.

This story is huge for me for several reasons.

First, we're seeing low-level warfare between a state and a corporation. China launched cyberattacks on some of the most powerful corporations in the world, and Google is using legal and economic power to fight back. I'm interested to see how this will play out. I expect that corporations will become more and more involved in international relations and political conflict over time.

Second, Google is approaching this entire issue with its distinctive commitment to openness. The post says, "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." Google did not announce its China policy review through traditional media or a press conference (as far as I know), but through a post on its official blog. It's almost like Google is trying to set the blogosphere ablaze... to create an open-source movement among global citizens that will support its battle against Chinese repression.

Third, I'm very interested to compare Google's response to these attacks with the US government's response. China has been hacking US government networks for years. It's a serious threat. I don't know much about network security, but I do know that the DOD's response has been very unimpressive. Networks are so locked down that they are almost useless. I prefer to work on my personal computer and avoid government networks whenever possible, because it's so hard to get anything done. Maybe these networks are secure, but they can't leverage the power of much of the Internet. The slow, cumbersome DOD bureaucracy also can't keep pace with rapid technological innovation in the private sector. Google, on the other hand, was founded on a radical commitment to openness. It is also a flexible, dynamic organization. I'm very interested to see how Google will balance openness and security as it deals with these threats. Maybe the US government can learn something.