FBI probes hacking allegedly from China

WASHINGTON, March 21 (UPI) -- The FBI began a preliminary investigation into reports of hackers in China accessing e-mail accounts of the Save Darfur Coalition, based in the United States.

The group, which seeks to end the six-year conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, said accounts of 10 members were hacked into between early February and last week, giving the intruders access to its Web server, The Washington Post reported Friday.

A senior Chinese official, speaking anonymously to the Post, said the allegation is false.

The hackers "seemed intent on subversively monitoring, probing and disrupting coalition activities," said Save Darfur Coalition spokesman M. Allyn Brooks-LaSure.

Web site logs and e-mails showed Internet protocol addresses traced to China, he said.

The coalition, based in Washington, has been highly critical of China's support for the Sudanese government. The group has urged China to use its position on the U.N. Security Council to help bring peace in the region. China is Sudan's chief diplomatic sponsor, major weapons provider and largest foreign investor and trade partner.

"Someone in Beijing is clearly trying to send us a message," coalition President Jerry Fowler said. "But they're mistaken if they think these attacks will end efforts to bring peace to Darfur."