Chinese language found in attack on Mitsubishi points to Beijing involvement

It has been revealed that Chinese language characters were found in one of the viruses used by attackers to hack the systems of multiple global defence contractors including missile and nuclear plant manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan.

Japanese newspaper the Daily Yomiuri reported that a screen used by hackers to remotely control infected PCs displayed simplified Chinese, making it difficult for someone without "deep knowledge" of the language to carry out the attack.

Japanese police are therefore treating the attack as international espionage, the paper said.

The revelations will turn up the heat on diplomatic ties between China and Japan, the world's second and third largest economies respectively.

The Chinese government has consistently denied any involvement in attacks originating from within its borders, claiming that it is itself a victim of numerous attacks.

However, the veil appeared to slip a little when evidence was caught on camera to the contrary, ironically after the footage was accidentally left in a documentary on cyber crime on a Chinese military TV channel.

While the existence of Chinese script does not prove government involvement in this particular attack, it does seem to point to Chinese hackers having some sort of involvement.

What is incredibly difficult to prove, of course, is that the Chinese authorities don't encourage or sponsor what could be viewed as patriotic acts designed to boost the country's standing on the global stage by whatever means.