Chinese hacked Capitol Hill computers: congressman

[Praxius]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...congressman_chinese_080612/20080612?hub=World

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. congressman said Wednesday the FBI has found that four of his government computers have been hacked by sources working out of China.

Representative Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican, said that similar incidents -- also originating from China -- have taken place on computers of other members of the House and at least one House committee.

A spokesman for Wolf said the four computers in his office were being used by staff members working on human rights issues and that the hacking began in August 2006. Wolf is a longtime critic of the Chinese government's human rights record.

The congressman suggested the problem probably goes further. "If it's been done in the House, don't you think that they're doing the same thing in the Senate?" he asked.

OOOOooooo.... I'm scared... hold me.

"I think this is very bad because you have the Chinese compromising and gaining access to computers of any number of members of the House and a major committee of the House," Wolf told The Associated Press. "We don't know how many others."

Then update your security programs dumbass.

Wolf declined to say how many other incidents of congressional computers being compromised he knows about or to identify which House committee he referred to.

In calling for hearings in both the House and Senate, Wolf said there "probably are members serving in Congress whose computers have been compromised and they may not even know it."

Separately, U.S. authorities are investigating whether Chinese officials secretly copied the contents of a government laptop computer during a visit to China by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and used the information to try to hack into Commerce Department computers.

The FBI declined to comment. In Beijing, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no immediate comment. Last week, China denied the accusations regarding Gutierrez's laptop and the alleged effort to hack Commerce Department computers.