Chinese hackers linked to an intelligence-gathering operation have breached the email accounts of top U.S. diplomats, including Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink. This incident has been confirmed by NBC News and the fallout from the hacking incident further exacerbates U.S-China relations.
Key Points:
- The hackers targeted the unclassified email accounts of top U.S. diplomats as part of a larger intelligence-gathering campaign.
- The issue of Chinese hacking was raised by Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his meeting with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi.
- The incident was part of a larger breach announced by Microsoft last week, which compromised about 25 organizations, including some U.S. government agencies.
- Blinken has reiterated the U.S. stance on the issue, stating that any actions targeting the U.S. government, U.S. companies, or American citizens are of deep concern, and would be met with appropriate action.
- Security experts opine this incident marks an acceleration in Beijing’s digital spying capabilities.
