US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) shakes hands with China’s Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on June 19, 2023. (Photo by Leah MILLIS / POOL / AFP) (Photo by LEAH MILLIS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Leah Millis | Afp | Getty Images
China-linked hackers have successfully breached the email accounts of U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns and Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, according to NBC News. The breach occurred as part of a targeted intelligence-gathering campaign, and it was discovered that Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo’s email account was also compromised. The Wall Street Journal first reported on this incident, which further exacerbates the fallout for the U.S. resulting from the alleged Chinese hack disclosed last week.
Microsoft recently announced that approximately 25 organizations, including some U.S. government agencies, were targeted by China-based hackers. The breach was detected and mitigated by Microsoft cybersecurity teams, who reported that the hackers had been accessing government systems since at least May.
U.S. warns China
During a meeting in Jakarta, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the issue of Chinese hacking with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi. Blinken emphasized that the U.S. would hold the hackers accountable for their actions against U.S. government agencies. The State Department detected the breach last month and promptly took steps to protect their systems and report the incident to Microsoft for further investigation.
Blinken stated that any action targeting the U.S. Government or U.S. companies is a matter of deep concern, and appropriate action will be taken in response. The meeting between Blinken and Wang took place less than a month after Blinken’s visit to Beijing, which aimed to ease tensions between the two largest economies. Security experts have noted the increasing sophistication of Beijing’s digital spying capabilities.
In a blog post, cybersecurity firm Mandiant highlighted the evolving tactics of Chinese cyber espionage operators over the past decade, noting their agility, stealthiness, and complexity.
— CNBC’s Rohan Goswami contributed to this report.
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