An Ambiguous FBI Cyber Alert Raise More Questions than it Answers

A vague FBI warning about bad actors infecting U.S. computers in foreign hotels is raising questions about whether authorities are withholding information to avoid rattling relations with a foreign country, possibly China.

The bureau’s Internet Crime Complaint Center on May 8 issued an alert about pop-up messages “targeting travelers abroad” that prompt users to download an update for a “widely used software product” that then installs a virus when clicked. The warning does not say American vacationers are at risk -- just people conducting business. “The FBI recommends that all government, private industry and academic personnel who travel abroad take extra caution before updating software products on their hotel Internet connection,” the notice states. One cybersecurity researcher suggested the FBI omitted certain details that could more effectively protect computer users, but such information might unsettle U.S.-China diplomacy. In October 2011, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a report calling “Chinese actors” the “world's most active and persistent perpetrators of economic espionage.” The study added U.S. corporations and cybersecurity specialists have reported an onslaught of intrusions traced back to computer addresses in China, with some alleging Chinese government sponsorship, but the intelligence community has not been able to link many of the breaches to a state sponsor.