Reports of Gmail hacking being probed - White House

The White House said on Wednesday reports that hackers tried to get into Google email accounts were being investigated but it did not believe U.S. government email accounts were breached in the attack.

Google Inc said on Wednesday unknown hackers likely originating from central China tried to get into the Gmail accounts of hundreds of users, including senior U.S. government officials, Chinese activists and journalists. "We're looking into these reports and are seeking to gather the facts," said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor. "We have no reason to believe that any official U.S. government email accounts were accessed."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was aware of Google's announcement and was working with the world's largest Internet company to review the matter. Google said on its official blog that the hackers, who appeared to originate from Jinan, China, recently tried to crack and monitor email accounts by stealing passwords but the company detected and "disrupted" the campaign.