Following complaints by two popular American dailies — The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal — that their websites are being hacked from China, the Obama administration yesterday favoured talks with Beijing in this regard.

“We have had and been very clear about our substantial and growing concerns about the threats of economic and national security posed by cyber-intrusions, including the theft of commercial information. We have been clear with the Government of China that we need to continue to talk about this,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters at her daily news conference.

The outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, she said, initiated a dialogue on cyber security as part of its regular security and economic dialogue with the Government of China.

“The New York Times’ experience mirrors that of individuals and organisations across the US Government and private sector. And we are encouraging those who have had these experiences, whether they’re in China or anywhere else in the world, to share them and to take this opportunity to review their security protocols because, you know, this is, unfortunately, a substantial and growing concern,” Nuland said in response to a question.

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