The exploit code used in last December's attacks on Google and other companies was written by a freelance security consultant in China, according to a report.

"The unidentified programmer had posted pieces of the exploit to a hacking forum, and Chinese officials had 'special access' to his work, the Financial Times reported on Sunday," writes CNET News' Elinor Mills. "The programmer did not launch the attack, the report said, citing an anonymous researcher working for the U.S. government."

"Last week, The New York Times reported that researchers had traced the attacks to computers at Shanghai Jiaotong University and Lanxiang Vocational School, which has ties to the Chinese military," Mills writes. "However, officials at the schools have denied those claims."

Click here to read the CNET News article.