China-Linked Hackers Allegedly Access Western Government Emails, Microsoft Reports

Microsoft has reported that a hacking group linked to China, referred to as Storm-0558, has gained access to email accounts belonging to Western government agencies and organizations. This cyberespionage activity reportedly began in May and involved the forging of digital authentication tokens to infiltrate webmail accounts running on Microsoft’s Outlook service.

In response to this development, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan acknowledged that the United States had rapidly detected a breach in federal government accounts and is currently investigating the situation. However, China has firmly denied these allegations, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin labeling the US as the “world’s biggest hacking empire and global cyber thief”. Wang urged the US to disclose its own cyberattack activities and refrain from disseminating disinformation.

Microsoft has informed all affected or compromised organizations and has been cooperating with the US Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to provide support and address the issue. The tech giant emphasized that the hackers are primarily focused on espionage, seeking access to emails for intelligence gathering. While specific targets have not been disclosed, the hacking group is said to predominantly focus on entities in Western Europe.

The White House National Security Council’s spokesman Adam Hodge reported an intrusion in Microsoft’s cloud security, which affected unclassified systems. The US State Department also confirmed detecting “anomalous activity” and took immediate measures to protect its computer systems.

This situation has the potential to reignite tensions between Washington and Beijing, amidst ongoing economic and geopolitical competition. Despite recent visits by top US officials to China aimed at improving relations, incidents like this underscore the complexities in the US-China relationship.

The US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen remarked on her recent “productive” talks in China, indicating an improvement in bilateral ties. Similarly, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing earlier this year, a trip that was initially postponed due to a dispute over a Chinese high-altitude balloon in US airspace, which China claimed was a stray weather balloon.

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