In next week's Businessweek cover story, investigative reporters Dune Lawrence and Michael Riley take a deep dive on Chinese hackers, coming up with some fascinating details.
It's a big story given the recent accusations about Chinese hackers that have come from the New York Times and other news outlets, and Lawrence and Riley provide perhaps the most detailed account of the mechanics of the hacking.
The pair profile malware expert Joe Stewart as he follows the traces left by hackers, eventually reaching one suspected hacker, who just happens to be a teacher at the People’s Liberation Army’s Information Engineering University.
One of the most interesting details in the story comes from a sidebar however, where Lawrence reveals that while writing this cover story her laptop crashed. When she rebooted it she found a banner at the top of her Gmail in-box reading: “Warning: We believe state-sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer.”
For journalists who covers China, such a warning may be all too familiar — Business Insider reporters have been given the warning too.
The Chinese government has been steadfast in it's denials of any involvement in the hacks, with state media both criticizing the US for the accusations and reporting that it is the victim of hacks too.
However, this wouldn't be the first time that Bloomberg reporters have faced intimidation after a controversial article on China. According to at least once source, reporters faced death threats after last year's huge article on Xi Jinping's finances.
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