Microsoft revealed that email accounts belonging to several US government agencies were breached by hackers with ties to China, who were actively pursuing intelligence information.
Chinese-based hackers seeking intelligence information breached the email accounts of a number of US government agencies, computer giant Microsoft said.
Microsoft said Storm-0558 gained access to email accounts at approximately 25 organizations including government agencies.
Microsoft did not identify the targets but a US State Department spokesperson said the department had “detected anomalous activity” and had taken “immediate steps to secure our systems.”
CNN, citing sources familiar with the investigation, said the Chinese hackers targeted a small number of federal agencies and the email accounts of specific officials at each agency.
In the blog post, Charlie Bell, a Microsoft executive vice president, said “we assess this adversary is focused on espionage, such as gaining access to email systems for intelligence collection.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan addressed the hack in an appearance on Wednesday on ABC’s Good Morning America, and said it had been detected “fairly rapidly.”
The Redmond, Washington-based company said it had launched an investigation into “anomalous mail activity” on June 16.
Disclosure of the Chinese hacking comes on the heels of trips to China by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the shooting down by the United States of a Chinese surveillance balloon.
In May, Microsoft said state-sponsored Chinese hackers called “Volt Typhoon” had infiltrated critical US infrastructure networks.
Microsoft highlighted Guam, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean with a vital military outpost, as one of the targets in that attack, but said “malicious” activity had also been detected elsewhere in the United States.
Microsoft’s May statement coincided with an advisory released by US, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and British authorities warning that the hacking was likely occurring globally.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
