Clinton Wants Chinese Explanation of Hacking

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wants to know what happened.

Despite comments last week that said that the U.S. government would be staying out of the Google and China issue, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today in a speech called on the Chinese government to look at the recent happenings leading up to Google's threat to pull out of China.

Clinton said in Washington, "We look to the Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough review of the activities that led Google to make its announcements… Chinese authorities need to provide an explanation for the cyberattacks originating on Chinese soil…"

Her comments came during a speech where she announced a $15 million effort to encourage more young people, women and citizens groups in other countries communicate on the Web, according to the New York Times. Clinton also urged a global response to internet-based attacks, saying that an attack on one nation is an attack on all.

"In an interconnected world, an attack on one nation’s networks can be an attack on all," Clinton said. "By reinforcing that message, we can create norms of behavior among states and encourage respect for the global networked commons."

Interestingly, just last week U.S. Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, said that the U.S. government will be staying out of any negotiations that Google may have with China following the hacking incident.