Google cyberattack hit password system: Report

According to a new report in the New York Times, the December cyberattack on Google Inc computers succeeded in disabling its password system being used worldwide by millions of people to access almost all of the company's web services.

The report datelined yesterday, cited an unidentified person with direct knowledge of the investigation, says the closely-guarded program is a precious possession at Google that enables users and employees to sign in with their password only once to access various services including e-mail and business applications.

The program is code-named Gaia after the Greek godess of the earth, and is still being used under the name Single Sign-On. The program was described publicly only once at a technical conference four years back according to the newspaper.

The intruders do not seem to have stolen Gmail account passwords, the report says.

Meanwhile, Google has started to beef up security, the newspaper said.

But the break-in does leave a possibility, however remote, that the intruders may find weaknesses that Google may not be aware of, the report said citing computer experts.