Clinton warns hackers of consequences

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Thursday warned there would be consequences for hackers after a series of cyber attacks on US internet firms, including search giant Google.

“Countries or individuals that engage in cyber attacks should face consequences and international condemnation,” Clinton said in a speech on internet freedom in Washington.

Google last week said the company was reviewing its operations in China following “a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China” last month and attempts by the Chinese government to limit free speech on the web.

The blog posting announced Google’s intention to end its compliance with China’s internet censorship regulations, in a move welcomed by human rights groups. The company launched its China-based search engine Google.cn in January 2006, agreeing to comply with Chinese laws and to filter search results.

Some 33 other US firms were also subject to similar cyber attacks.