According to Microsoft, hackers from China have accessed email accounts belonging to about 25 organizations, including governmental institutions.
Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, was one of those impacted, according to the US Department of Commerce, which verified that Microsoft had informed them of the incident.
China’s hack
The Department of Commerce responded right away after receiving notification from Microsoft that the Office 365 system had been compromised.
The State Department was reportedly also a target of the hackers, according to US media. The US government was referred to by the Chinese embassy in London as “the world’s biggest hacking empire and global cyber thief” and the claim was branded “disinformation.”
- China hackers breached 25 organizations’ email accounts, according to Microsoft.
- US media reports State Department was targeted by hackers, branded as a global cyber thief.
- Chinese hackers targeted US military bases in Guam with sophisticated malware.
Microsoft claimed that the Chinese hacking collective Storm-0558 gained access to email accounts by creating fake digital authentication tokens that the system requires.
The group focuses on espionage, data theft, and credential access and mostly targets government organizations in Western Europe.
The company claimed that the breaches started in May, according to its investigations, and that it has now “mitigated the attack and has contacted impacted customers.”
One of the greatest known cyber espionage attacks against the US, according to Microsoft and Western spy agencies, was Chinese hackers attacking vital infrastructure on American military bases in Guam using “stealthy” malware in May.
The Microsoft study was criticized by Beijing as “highly unprofessional” and “disinformation.” Regardless of the facts or context, China constantly denies involvement in hacking operations.
