Google turns over hack info to US government

Google is turning over the investigation of a recent system intrusion attempt to the US government.

According to reports, the company is going to partner with the National Security Agency (NSA) in its analysis of last December's attempt to install spyware on several company PCs.

Google first gave word of the attack in early January, claiming that the attacks originated in China and were reportedly targeting company systems in an effort to infiltrate Gmail accounts.

The company accused the Chinese government of organising the attacks in an effort to eavesdrop on human rights activists, announcing that it would no longer co-operate with the country's search censorship policies.

Since Google disclosed the attacks, other companies have come forward and admitted to being targeted in the attack, while others have come to the defence of China's policies.

China has since denied any involvement in the attacks.

The reports suggest that the two sides are still hammering out details on the agreement which would focus not on the attack itself, but rather ways to prevent similar attacks in the future.

Online rights groups have already taken notice, however. Privacy advocate group EPIC has filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking to disclose the details of the agreement and find out how Google plans to secure its web services.