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US officials wary of Chinese Hackers

US officials are reportedly wary of the online threats posed by Chinese hackers and are toying with the idea of issuing an official warning to US citizens planning to visit the country during the Olympic Games.

According to The Wall Street Journal, US intelligence and security officials are worried by the frequency of attacks aimed at travelling business people and government officials.

Opinion is divided among authorities with security officials leaning towards issuing a warning but state and commerce officials are against the idea, which they fear may offend the Chinese.

Among the tactics for stealing information are compromising laptops at airport checkpoints or hotel rooms, hitting BlackBerrys with spyware through Wi-Fi connectivity and using Bluetooth technology to steal data.

However, a spokesman for China's ministry of foreign affairs dismissed the fears saying: "Allegations that China supports hacker attacks against U.S. computer networks ... are entirely fabricated, and seriously misleading."

Chinese hackers were recently accused of attacking government and private computer networks in India in an apparent "cyber supremacy" war, according to the India Post.

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