In its recent 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Intel Corp revealed that it had also faced a “sophisticated” cyberattack in January this year, “around the same time as the recently publicized security incident reported by Google,” Abode and over 30 other leading US companies.

Intel added that there apparently was no clear link between the cyberattacks against it and Google - with the company spokesman Chuck Mulloy merely saying that “the only connection is timing.” Intel also remained tight-lipped about issues like the source behind the attacks; from where they had originated, or what information had been breached.

Meanwhile, Google has refrained from commenting whether Intel was one of the ‘unnamed’ companies that it believed had been targeted in attacks that had supposedly been initiated from China.

Analysts opine that Google public disclosure of being ‘successfully’ attacked by hackers has given other companies the reassurance that their reputation will not be tainted and that they need to rethink their approach to security breaches.

Commenting on the Intel decision to publicize the cyberattack, Identity Finder’s CEO Todd Feinman said that the disclosure probably resulted from the need to minimize the company’s legal risks. Feinman elaborated: “The advantage is that you're protecting yourself for when it finally does happen and something really bad occurs, because you can say 'we disclosed this information on our 10-K’.”