US secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Thursday for consequences and condemnation for those who carry out cyber attacks, in excerpts of a speech expected to address Google Inc.'s concerns about China.
"Countries or individuals that engage in cyber attacks should face consequences and international condemnation. In an interconnected world, an attack on one nation''s networks can be an attack on all," Clinton said in excerpts released ahead of a speech to be delivered in Washington at 9:30 EDT (1430 GMT).
"By reinforcing that message, we can create norms of behaviour among states and encourage respect for the global networked commons."
A US official said Clinton would also speak to Internet search engine giant Google's concerns that it had been targeted by sophisticated cyber-spying from China.
Clinton's speech on Internet freedom could be seen in Beijing as throwing down a gauntlet over Google's accusations of the attack.
Google said it may shut its Chinese-language google.cn website and offices in China because of the attack. China sought to contain tension with the United States over online censorship and hacking, saying Google's dispute with Beijing should not be overstated.
China's relations with the United States are already troubled by quarrels over trade, Taiwan and human rights. But many in China see Google's ultimatum as a business tactic because its market share trails the popular Chinese search site Baidu.
