The finger of blame for the hacking of computers at India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is now being pointed towards China.

The hack, which we reported on Monday, broke into 600 computers in the department which deals with sensitive Pakistani affairs, and in the offices of senior Secretaries and Joint Secretaries.

Investigators looking into the hack say that it originated from China, although security expert Graham Cluley, from Sophos , points out that it could have been any power that was just using a Chinese server.

However he noted that it was not the first time that China has been sniffing around Indian government computers. In May 2008, senior government officials in New Delhi blamed China for attacks that were alleged to have targeted the MEA and the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Cluley thinks it is possible that the intrusions could help China map India's network infrastructure, and perhaps work out how to disable or disrupt it during a conflict. X