The Chaser, a news website run by Hong Kong journalists in Britain, says Google informed the diaspora media outlet that its company email was being targeted by "government-backed attacks."
China is presumed to be behind the attacks, something Beijing denies. Analysts say the case highlights the growing difficulties Hong Kong journalists face both at home and overseas.
On Tuesday, The Chaser published a report about the incident on its website, including a screenshot of the email from Google about the government-backed attack. The email listed the severity of the attack as high.
According to Google, only 0.1% of users worldwide have been subjected to similar attacks. Google also pointed out that it cannot rule out that the warning may be a false alarm, but the company believes it has detected suspicious activities.
These could include attempts to steal passwords or personal information through emails containing harmful attachments, harmful software download links or links to fake websites.
VOA reached out to Google for more details on the attack but has yet to receive a response.
'There is no way out'
The Chaser said it immediately reviewed all online security measures after receiving the notice and has taken the necessary protective actions.
The Chaser said in a statement, "At a time when Hong Kong's press is mired in the White Terror, the invisible black hand has unscrupulously reached out to the diaspora media overseas.
"Our team members are from Hong Kong and came to the UK three years ago, hoping to continue chasing news on free soil. In today's turbulent world of press freedom in Hong Kong, there is no way out. Our team strongly condemns all threats to press freedom and pledges to remain at our posts."
VOA efforts to seek a response from China's Embassy in Britain were unsuccessful, but the Chinese Embassy in Washington denied that China was involved in the cyberattack.
"China firmly opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with law. Without valid evidence, they jumped to an unwarranted conclusion and made groundless accusations against China," the embassy said in an emailed statement Thursday. "It is extremely irresponsible and is a complete distortion of facts. China firmly opposes this."
Last month, The Chaser released an investigative report that said the Chinese Embassy in Britain had pressured Dragons Teaching, a British publishing house, in 2018 to remove the phrase "Republic of China" from chapters about Taiwan in Chinese textbooks. The Republic of China is Taiwan's official name.
Beijing is relentless in its global campaign to quash any recognition of the democratically ruled island — no matter how small.
The publishing house eventually gave in to pressure from Beijing, according to the report from The Chaser. The textbooks are used in exams for secondary school courses in Britain. The Chinese Embassy in Britain has declined to comment on the incident and report, though other British media picked up the story.
Journalists report harassment
The cyberattack comes as journalists in Hong Kong are under increasing pressure.
Last week, the Hong Kong Journalists Association said that from June to August of this year, dozens of journalists, their families, employers, landlords or neighbors were harassed and intimidated in different ways on the internet and in their daily lives, which was unprecedented.
Benson Wong, a Hong Kong political scholar living in Britain, doesn't believe the attacks on The Chaser and other Hong Kong journalists are purely coincidental, especially as China's National Day is approaching.
"From their point of view, it is understandable that the national security and intelligence units would do some things or do some 'homework' as part of their performance," he said.
He said he believes the attack is meant to send a signal that Hong Kong journalists who make critical remarks about China cannot expect to be safe from interference or even attacks just because they move overseas.
VOA reached out to Britain's National Cyber Security Center for comment on the attack but has yet to receive a response.
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
