US GOVERNMENT cyber experts suspect that Chinese hackers have penetrated the White House security network and that a sophisticated attack on Barack Obama and John McCain's campaign computer networks during this summer probably originated from China.
E-mails and other confidential, although unclassified, material from the campaign was reportedly downloaded illegally, the Financial Times has reported.
Chinese hackers have also penetrated the White House computer network on numerous occasions, and obtained e-mails between government officials, the paper said, citing an unnamed senior US official.
During the summer, the Secret Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation warned both Mr Obama's and Mr McCain's campaign teams that their computer networks had been compromised by "a foreign entity", which Washington insiders say is basically code for China. The campaign teams thought they had a virus problem.
The attacks were discovered by the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force and had not compromised classified links to White House files, instead focusing on unclassified areas.
Security agencies believe the attack was an attempt by either the Chinese government or other unspecified agencies to learn more about where the different candidates stood on issues such as the One-China Policy (policy towards Taiwan) and other questions of importance to the Chinese.
The Pentagon claims the Chinese army has established units to develop viruses to attack enemy computer systems, although China argues it is as much a victim as a perpetrator in this conflict.