Chinese Hackers Breached US Ambassador’s Emails: WSJ

Hackers linked to Beijing accessed the US ambassador to China’s email account in a spying operation that would have compromised at least hundreds of thousands of US government messages, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday.

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Daniel Crittenbrink was hacked in Microsoft’s most widespread spying operation this month, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

When asked about the breach of the two diplomats’ accounts, the State Department declined to provide details, saying an investigation into possible espionage was ongoing.

“The United States has consistently made clear to China and other countries that any actions by the U.S. government or U.S. companies that target U.S. citizens are very troubling to us,” U.S. Ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns told Reuters, referring to comments made by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken this month.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington said China has always opposed hacking and rejected “baseless” speculation about the origins of digital attacks.

“China resolutely opposes and combats electronic attacks and data theft in all forms. This position is consistent and clear,” spokesman Liu Pengyu said in an emailed response to Reuters.

“Tracing the source of digital attacks is a complex technical issue. We expect relevant parties to adopt a professional and responsible approach rather than speculation and baseless claims.”

Prior to the WSJ report, Grittenbrink was asked at a congressional hearing on US China policy whether he could rule out that his or his team’s emails were the target of Microsoft’s hack.

“I can’t comment on the FBI’s investigation, but no, I’m not ruling it out,” Crittenbrink said.

Burns and Gridenbrink, along with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, are the only victims publicly named in the spying campaign, which prompted a warning from Washington’s top diplomat to her Chinese counterpart.