Hackers linked to China gained access to email accounts of top US officials responsible for managing the US-China relationship, including the US ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns.
Hack Targets US-China Relations Advisers
According to a report published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the attack is believed to have compromised at least hundreds of thousands of US government emails.
Emails of Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, were also compromised in the espionage attack. Kritenbrink and Burns are believed to be the two most high-profile State Department officials to be targeted in the alleged spying campaign.
Additionally, US Secretary Gina Raimondo’s email was also compromised in the breach.
While the extent of the campaign, which is limited to unclassified emails, is not fully clear yet, the information from Burns and Kritenbrink’s emails could have allowed the hackers access to insights into US planning for a recent series of high-profile visits to China by senior US officials.
In addition, it may have offered them information about the internal conversations about US policies toward the Asian giant, amid a period of tense relations.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s email account was not part of the hack, neither were the accounts of those in his circle of top advisers. “Instead, the hackers appeared to focus on a small number of senior officials responsible for managing the US-China relationship,” WSJ noted.
Although the estimate of individual emails accessed is rough, sources have warned that the number of targets could grow.
US Response
A State Department spokesperson said:
“For security reasons, we will not be sharing additional information on the nature and scope of this cybersecurity incident at this time. The Department continuously monitors and responds to activity of concern on our networks. Our investigation is ongoing, and we cannot provide further details at this time.”
Chinese Response
While the US has not officially blamed China for the attack, senior Biden administration officials said they have no reason to doubt Microsoft, which was also targeted in the campaign, in its assessment that the group was affiliated to China.
However, China has denied the allegations and accused the US of engaging in rampant cyber-enabled espionage around the world.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a statement that identifying the source of cyber-attacks was complex and warned against “groundless speculations and allegations.”
The US has accused and charged several people affiliated to the Chinese government, for spying operations in the past.