The Dalai Lama also expressed strong support for Google, and said that the Chinese government cannot stop western media from popularizing “democracy” in China.

According to a report from AFP, the Dalai Lama said February 22 in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR) that he is willing to terminate the reincarnation institution in order to prevent the Chinese government from announcing the emergence of a new Dalai Lama through finding a boy with his reincarnated soul.

He also claimed in regards to the issue of a reincarnated soul boy, that the Chinese government is “more concerned with this institution than me.”

Aside from the succession issue, the Dalai Lama also used Google tussle to provoke U.S. media agencies to continue their confrontations against China.

According to a Reuters report February 22, the Dalai Lama said while delivering a speech in Los Angeles that it is unnecessary for Google to feel depressed from the difficulties it encountered earlier in China. He believes that under the joint efforts of western countries and the “exiled Tibetan government,” Google will surely restart its development in China.

Hu Yan, professor at the Central Party School said in an interview with Global Times that this was not the first time the Dalai Lama expressed remarks on reincarnation and he has aired various types of opinions through western media, such as that he might choose his reincarnation when alive; and his reincarnation could be a female.

Beyond the immediate forensic inquiry, the work of US researchers sheds light on how cyber-operations are conducted in China.

The man who wrote code to take advantage of the browser flaw is not a full-time government worker, did not launch the attack, and in fact would prefer not be used in such offensive efforts, according to the US team that discovered his role.

“If he wants to do the research he’s good at, he has to toe the line now and again,” the US analyst said. “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.”

A separate team of US contractors has traced the launch of the spyware to computers at Shanghai Jiaotong University and Lanxiang Vocational School, according to two people familiar with that inquiry.

Jiaotong University has one of the best security departments in the country, US analysts said, with former government cyber commanders in residence.

The state-run Xinhua news agency said officials at both schools denied involvement.

In theory, outsiders could have compromised both schools’ machines before using them to collect data from the Western companies.

But US analysts said at least Jiaotong University’s networks are closely monitored, making them an odd choice for an independent attacker seeking to avoid detection. In addition, “Our investigation shows the hosts that did the attacks were not compromised that we could tell”, said an analyst involved in that probe.

Additional reporting by Patti Waldmeir in Shanghai

The Web site, the Black Hawk Safety Net, was started in 2005 and had another 170,000 free members, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

The Wuhan Evening Post reported on Sunday that the police had actually arrested three people associated with Black Hawk Safety Net last November. The publication gave no indication why the arrests were only being disclosed now, when the Chinese government is trying to assure the world that it is tough on cybersecurity violations.

Xinhua did not mention in its report on Monday that the arrests had taken place in November, giving the impression that they were very recent.

Computer hacking is popular in China as a way to gain access to online game accounts, which may have points, virtual weapons or other virtual assets that may be transferred or spent. But Internet security experts say that hackers in China are behind a global increase in criminal activities like the stealing of credit card numbers and even corporate espionage.

China amended its criminal code last year to make it a crime to make computer hacking tools available to others.

The National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Center of China has calculated that hackers caused losses of $1.11 billion last year.

The Chinese government has sought to portray hacking as an activity by criminals beyond its control. But Western governments and corporations have become increasingly concerned about the possibility of government backing for penetrations of computer security in the West.

Google announced last month that hackers from China had made sophisticated efforts to break into the computer systems of 34 companies and entities, mainly in Silicon Valley, and had sought entry to the private Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. The Chinese government has dismissed as “groundless” all suggestions that it might have been involved.

Earlier, the official English-language China Daily put the number of hacker attacks at 230 million. That figure appeared wrong because it would equate to more than 5,000 attacks per minute.

Cyber attacks to steal information or disrupt operations are a growing concern for the world’s militaries as technology takes on an ever-increasing role.

The United States said this year it would create a Cyber Command to oversee the U.S. military’s efforts to protect its computer networks and operate in cyberspace.

Officials added then that more than 100 foreign intelligence services were trying to hack into U.S. networks, but there were also concerns about terrorist attacks and individual hackers.

China’s normally secretive military launched its site (www.mod.gov.cn), which also has an English version, in a new bid to allay overseas criticism over transparency and the build-up of its armed forces.

The moves come at a time when China has been ramping up investment in its military — the world’s largest — to introduce new high-tech weapons. Reported budget spending has grown by double digits in recent years.

But the secrecy of China’s political system makes its Asian neighbors and Washington wary about its military intentions.

Its rivals worry that its actual defense expenditure is more than the $70 billion reported for this year, which is dwarfed by the Pentagon’s budget of more than $500 billion.

China insists its military modernization threatens no country but it has long threatened to attack Taiwan, which Beijing has claimed sovereignty over since their split in 1949, if the self-ruled democratic island formally declares independence.

(Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Benjamin Kang Lim and Alex Richardson)

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) — Cyber threats can cross borders and wreak havoc, not just in information technology circles, but in communities, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia warned at the UN General Assembly here Friday, calling for enhanced global cooperation to tackle the problem.

“Concurrently with the rapid development of computer technology we are witnessing alarming signs of more sinister developments: cyber attacks are growing more complex and their use is increasing in frequency,” Ilves said while speaking to the general debate of the General Assembly, which entered its third day here Friday.

The president called on governments and the private sector to join forces to boost their ability to respond to cyber threats.

Also crucial in the fight against cyber attacks are enhanced domestic frameworks to include the criminalization of cyber crimes, he said. “Our long-term aim should be the creation of a universal cyber culture — a universally accessible, secure and safe environment for all.”

In his wide-ranging speech to heads of State and government, the Estonian leader also touched on such issues as climate change, the global financial crisis and the situation in Afghanistan.