If your company is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, your membership information may have been exposed to Chinese hackers who infiltrated the Chamber's systems. The hackers had access to the Chamber's data for about a year beginning in May 2009, and the organization didn't find out about it until notified by the FBI, reports Jaikumar Vijayan at Computerworld.

It remains unclear exactly what data was compromised, but according to The Wall Street Journal, approximately six weeks' worth of email belonging to four Chamber employees working on Asia policy was stolen, as well as the email of approximately 50 members.

It is speculated that the attack was launched by a group affiliated with the government of China. The hackers, who seem to have known whose data they were after, set up at least six backdoors into the infiltrated computers, which allowed them to check in when they wanted to.

Security analysts say that China-based hackers have engaged in a methodical effort to steal trade secrets, intellectual property and other information from U.S. companies, government agencies and the military. Vijayan notes that last year Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced that individuals working for the Chinese government had hacked into its computers.

"Chinese hackers go after useful business information," said James Lewis, director and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The chamber would be a good target. Hacking is normal business practice in China."

For more:
- see Jaikumar Vijayan's article at Computerworld

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