U.S. accused of launching cyber attack

This article intrigued me when I was researching Online Security for our Final presentation. In this case, The U.S. Government was accused of launching a cyber attack on the french government, which the U.S. categorically denied. This is actually an excellent article because it explains the steps that professional hackers took in their efforts targeting "the team of [former French President] Nicolas Sarkozy." These hackers starting point? That's right, Facebook. "From there, they were sent e-mails that contained a link leading to a fake website that replicated the Elysse Palace's own page. After the page asked for a username and password, the advisers obliged, and their information was stolen." It was as easy as that. Weather the U.S. government is behind this or not has yet to be determined, everyone may have there suspicion. A series of important documents were obtained form this cyber attack, including "secret notes" and Sarkozy's strategic plans. One suspicion is that the U.S. knew that this former president would be out the door soon, and wanted to make good terms with the new government official. Cyber attacks that are backed from government efforts are nothing new. "For years now, we've been hearing of reports of China and the U.S. launching cyber-attacks on important networks. Claims also have been made that the U.S. and Israel were behind the Flame cyber attacks on Iran's nuclear efforts. This is the first time that there has been a report of the U.S. launching a cyber-attack on an ally.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57553153-83/u.s-accused-of-cyberattack-on-french-government/