Chinese school denies involvement in Google cyber attacks

JINAN - A Chinese vocational school blamed for staging cyber attacks on Google and other firms said Saturday the allegations are unfounded.

“An investigation has found no attacks originated from our school,” Li Zixiang, an official of the Lanxiang Vocational School in Shandong province, told Xinhua.

Li’s remarks came after New York Times reported Thursday that cyber attacks on Google and other American firms have been traced to Shanghai Jiaotong University and Lanxiang Vocational School, which the report alleged has ties with the Chinese military.

Students of Lanxiang are still in their winter vacation, Li said, adding the school has no relationship with the military.

He also dismissed the suggestion of involvement of a “specific computer science class” taught by an Ukrainian professor.

“There is no Ukrainian teacher in the school and we have never employed any foreign staff,” Li confirmed.

The newspaper, citing unnamed investigators, said there is evidence suggesting a link between the attacks and a computer science class at Lanxiang taught by an Ukrainian professor.

“The report was unfounded. Please show the evidence,” Li said.

The school was founded in 1984 and gives training in cooking, auto repair and hairdressing, among other skills. It has about 20,000 students.

“It was not until 2006 that our graduates began to join the army. So far, 38 students have been recruited by the military for their talent in auto repair, cooking and electric welding,” said Zhou Hui, director of the school’s general office, who stressed it is natural for someone to join the army at a proper age.

Google said it might pull out of the Chinese market, citing disagreement with government policies and attacks targeting its services in China.