American authorities have reportedly identified a Chinese computer hacker believed to be behind attacks on Google last year.
The Financial Times reported that the suspect was a security consultant in his 30s with government links.
He is understood to have written the key part of a spyware programme which tried to access the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
According to the Financial Times, the hacker was working as a freelancer and would have preferred not to have contributed to the attack, but felt pressure from Chinese officials.
“If he wants to do the research he’s good at, he has to toe the line now and again,” the newspaper quoted an anonymous US government researcher as saying.
“He would rather not have uniformed guys looking over his shoulder, but there is no way anyone of his skill level can get away from that kind of thing.
“The state has privileged access to these researchers’ work.”
The claims put pressure on the Chinese government, which has said it opposes hacking, over its alleged role in the attack.
In January, Google said it would hold discussions with Chinese authorities about its concerns over online security.
The US government backed Google’s move and urged Beijing to investigate the hacking complaints thoroughly and transparently.
The New York Times reported that analysts had traced the online spies to two Chinese colleges – the prestigious Shanghai Jiaotong University and the Lanxiang vocational school.
Both establishments have since denied the reports.
The allegation that the vocational school, which trains hairdressers, chefs and car mechanics – but also has the world’s biggest computer laboratory – could take on one of the world’s most powerful internet firms has been widely mocked online.
