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US ambassador to Beijing targeted in Chinese cyber-attack – report
The US ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns, was reportedly one of the American officials whose emails were accessed in a recent Chinese hacking attack which took Washington by surprise with its sophistication.
Another target was Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for east Asia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. When the attack was first disclosed last week, the administration admitted the email account of the commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, had also been compromised. US officials were quoted as saying those were the three most senior targets but that in total, hundreds of thousands of government email accounts could have been breached.
Asked for comment on the report, 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,” the spokesperson said. “Our investigation is ongoing, and we cannot provide further details at this time.”
It was not clear how much sensitive US government information had been compromised.
According to the Journal’s account, Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s email had not been breached, nor had those of his inner circle of advisers. But Kritenbrink accompanied the secretary on his visit to China last month, and Burns had also attended meetings with the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, and other senior Chinese officials in the course of the visit. It is possible the hackers gained access to US preparations for those meetings and internal discussions about them.
US intelligence officials are reported to have been taken by surprise by the stealth and sophistication of the cyber-attack, which exploited a flaw in Microsoft’s cloud computing environment which has since been fixed, the company said.
Microsoft identified the perpetrators as the Chinese group Storm-0558, which it called “well-resourced” and “focused on espionage”.
- Breach involving accounts of Nicholas Burns and Daniel Kritenbrink appeared to be related to incident last week encompassing over 25 organisations
- No classified emails accessed, but sources suggested hackers may have seen information relating to US domestic policy consultations
CHINESE CYBER SECURITY INCIDENT | FOXNews, NY Post, The Guardian, South China Morning Post
US ambassador to China among those hacked in Beijing-linked operation
U.S. ambassador to China Nicholas Burns was among those hacked in a cyber-espionage operation linked to Beijing, Fox News has confirmed.
The alleged spying operation, first disclosed last week, is believed to have compromised hundreds of thousands of U.S. government emails.
Burns and Daniel Kritenbrink, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, are believed to be the two most senior State Department officials targeted. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was also among those targeted, U.S. officials told The Washington Post.
"The Department of State detected anomalous activity, took immediate steps to secure our systems, and will continue to closely monitor and quickly respond to any further activity," a State Department spokesperson said.
"As a matter of cybersecurity policy, we do not discuss details of our response and the incident remains under investigation. The Department of State has a robust cyber security program to protect our systems and information and works continuously to build resilience and stay ahead of malicious actors. We continuously monitor our networks and update our security procedures."
Burns and Kritenbrink’s inclusion in the attack was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
BIDEN ADMIN VOWS TO HOLD CHINESE HACKERS RESPONSIBLE AFTER GOVERNMENT EMAIL BREACH
Though the full scope of the attack is not known, the planning and execution appeared to have ramped up in anticipation of a string of U.S. visits to China – including Secretary of State Anthony Blinken – aimed at quelling tensions between the two nations.
✓ The hackers were able to pull off the attack thanks to a flaw in Microsoft's cloud-based security. The surgical, targeted espionage was discovered in mid-June by the State Department. They said none of the breached systems were classified, nor was any of the stolen data.
One person familiar with the investigation said U.S. military and intelligence agencies were not among the agencies impacted in the monthlong spying campaign, which also affected unnamed foreign governments.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday, June 19, 2023. (Leah Millis/Pool Photo via AP)
Officials did not specify the nature of the stolen data. But one U.S. official said the intrusion was "directly targeted" at diplomats and others who deal with the China portfolio at the State Department and other agencies. The official added that it was not yet clear if there had been any significant compromise of information.
Blinken’s trip to China went ahead as planned, although with customary information security procedures in place, which required his delegation to use "burner" phones and computers in China.
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Microsoft said it was alerted to the breach, which it blamed on a state-backed, espionage-focused Chinese hacking group "known to target government agencies in Western Europe," on June 16. Microsoft said the group, which it calls Storm-0558, had gained access to email accounts affecting about 25 organizations, including government agencies, since mid-May as well as to consumer accounts of individuals likely associated with those agencies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues, and much more.
Chinese hackers infiltrated U.S. Ambassador to China's emails: report
Hackers with ties to Beijing penetrated email accounts belonging to the US ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, and assistant secretary of state for East Asia Daniel Kritenbrink, according to multiple reports.
Both Burns and Kritenbrink, are believed to be the highest-ranking State Department officials known to have been victims of the attack, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“For security reasons, we will not be sharing additional information on the nature and scope of this cybersecurity incident at this time,” a State Department spokesperson told The Post when asked about the hack.
✓ “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.”
CNN confirmed the Wall Street Journal report.
✓ Specifics about what the cyber intruders may have obtained from the incursion were not entirely clear on Thursday. So far there haven’t been public reports indicating Blinken’s account was breached.
Outside the State Department, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo’s email account also fell prey to the cyber breach, according to multiple reports.
✓ Last week, the State Department and Commerce Department publicly acknowledged that their email systems were breached in the cyber campaign.
✓ Microsoft disclosed details of the attack in a blog post that described the culprit as a “China-based actor.”
The software firm alleged the hackers gained access to email accounts across approximately 25 organizations but did not identify them.
✓ Microsoft said it learned of the hack on June 16, 2023, and that further investigation revealed the attack commenced on May 15, 2023. The tech giant noted that it had “completed mitigation of this attack for all customers.”
Taking credit for informing Microsoft of the breach, the State Department declined to immediately confirm whether the perpetrator was a “China-based actor.”
Moreover, the State Department also did not disclose whether any classified material had been compromised.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department explained that Microsoft informed it of the cyber intrusion and stressed it “took immediate action to respond.”
✓ State Department spokesperson Matt Miller declined to state whether Blinken was aware of the hack before embarking on his trip.
That trip had been postponed from its original date in February due to controversy over the Chinese spy balloon hovering through US airspace from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4.
Kritenbrink and Burns attended meetings with top Chinese officials and President Xi Jinping, per the Wall Street Journal.
Blinken brought up the cyber breach during a discussion with Chinese diplomat Wang Yi last week, an official told CNN."
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