Intel faced hacker attack same time as Google

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Intel Corp. has revealed that it was targeted by a “sophisticated” hacker attack this year at about the same time as a spying probe that hit Google Inc.

Intel disclosed the attack in a regulatory filing late Monday. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Intel was infiltrated or that the attackers were the same ones that targeted Google Inc.

Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said Tuesday that the attack on Intel wasn’t broad-based like the one that hit Google. He said Intel isn’t aware of any intellectual property being stolen.

Intel, like other major corporations, faces constant computer attacks. Mulloy said the company was only pointing out there was a connection in terms of the timing of the Google attacks as part of a disclosure to investors about the company’s risks.

The disclosure comes amid heightened fears of state-sponsored espionage targeting corporate computer networks. Google revealed last month that its network was attacked from inside China and that the intruders stole intellectual property – an attack that Google says could cause it to leave China.

Google said at least 20 other companies were targeted as part of the attack, but those companies weren’t identified. Software maker Adobe Systems Inc. and Rackspace Inc., a Web hosting service, have acknowledged being targets.

Intel is the world’s largest maker of microprocessors, the “brains” of personal computers and servers, with about 80 percent of the worldwide market for those chips.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.