China's People's Daily stokes Google hacking tensions

Cyber attacks on Google were "inevitable".

China's state run newspaper the People's Daily has slammed Google for linking the country to hacking attacks on its networks.

The newspaper said the U.S.-based search provider, once the champion of openness, had "betrayed the spirit of the internet" and slandered the country.

Google had claimed that a hacking attack on its Gmail service last week originated in Jinan, where the Chinese Government's intelligence division is located.

The company stopped short of blaming the Chinese Government for the attacks.

The retaliatory article, published on the front page of the overseas edition of the People's Daily and written by the newspaper's editor, said Google was at risk of being spurned by the market.

Attacks on Google were inevitable, the editorial said.

"The disorder on the internet, corporate espionage, hackers abound ... cyber attacks [on Google] are inevitable," it said, according to a translation.

The attack against Google last week targeted hundreds of Gmail users including US Government officials, Chinese political activists and journalists, Google said in a blog post.

In January last year, Google detailed a sophisticated attack against its network which hit several other high profile companies, later known as Operation Aurora.

The search giant said the attacks originated from China, and the government denied involvement.

Google later pulled its China search and relocated to Hong Kong.