Morgan Stanley (MS.NYSE) was hit with a “very sensitive” network break-in by the same China-based hackers who attacked Google’s (GOOG.NASDAQ, GGQ1.FWB) computers more than a year ago, Bloomberg reported, citing leaked emails from a cyber-security company working for the bank. The emails from the Sacramento, California-based computer security firm HBGary indicate that hackers implanted software designed to steal confidential files and internal communications, though it’s not clear what information was stolen. The so-called Operation Aurora attacks occurred for about six months starting in June 2009. “They were hit hard by the real Aurora attacks (not the crap in the news),” wrote Phil Wallisch, a senior security engineer at HBGary, who said he read an internal Morgan Stanley report detailing the cyber attacks. The number of companies known to be affected was initially estimated at 20 to 30 but now exceeds 200.
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