According to a security expert’s examination, there is a similarity between the hacking of the Google Inc. and Fortune 100 companies.

He, however, refused to disclose the name of the firms involved.

The security expert remained silent on the New York Times story, which claimed that the attacks on Google e-mail accounts had been initiated at two Chinese educational institutions.

According to Times, the National Security Agency and cyber-security consultants are investigating the breach. A spokeswoman for the NSA, Marci Green, refused to say anything about the Times story.

The schools involved are the Lanxiang Vocational School and Shanghai Jiaotong University, the Times said, quoting anonymous people.

Meanwhile, a person who took the call at the Lanxiang Vocational School said that the school is not involved in the Google attacks, since the institution’s students are at the middle-school level and the institution is not furnished with high-technology equipment needed for such attacks.

Google said that the breach included theft of its intellectual property and hacking into the e-mail accounts of human rights activists.

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, in a speech in Washington on Jan. 21, said that the hackers who breached Google must face consequences. China discarded Hilary’s comments as unjustified and denied any kind of involvement in the incident.