{"id":2024870,"date":"2023-09-07T16:27:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T20:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-hack-of-microsoft-engineer-opened-door-to-us-government-email-breach\/"},"modified":"2023-09-07T16:29:34","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T20:29:34","slug":"chinese-hack-of-microsoft-engineer-opened-door-to-us-government-email-breach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-hack-of-microsoft-engineer-opened-door-to-us-government-email-breach\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese hackers gained access to the email account of a Microsoft engineer, leading to a breach of US government emails."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">40<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchinese-hack-of-microsoft-engineer-opened-door-to-us-government-email-breach%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2024870&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<h2>The Chinese Hack: Uncovering the Start\u2063 of\u200c a Cyberattack<\/h2>\n<p>The\u200c recently \u2063uncovered Chinese hack \u2063of hundreds of thousands of emails from top U.S. officials began with the breach of a Microsoft engineer\u2019s account, the company \u200dsaid on Sept. 6.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2063Chinese hacking group, which\u200d Microsoft dubbed \u200bStorm-0558, penetrated the engineer\u2019s account, giving it access to a cryptographic key the \u200bgroup\u2064 later used to break into the U.S. government accounts, Microsoft said in a blog\u200c post after a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/victory-for-social-media-users-everywhere-shapiro-daily-wire-cleared-of-frivolous-charges-over-tweet\/\" title=\"\u2018Victory For Social Media Users Everywhere\u2019: Shapiro, Daily Wire Cleared Of \u2018Frivolous\u2019 Charges Over Tweet\">months-long investigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote><p>The revelation offered details on a Chinese state-sponsored cyberattack that alarmed Washington, which spanned 25 organizations and affected \u200bthe State \u200band Commerce Departments, as \u2064well as \u2062at least one lawmaker and \u2064a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/us-religious-freedom-advocate-targeted-by-chinese-hackers-in-microsoft-breach-5410474\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Washington\u2064 think tank<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related\u200c Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/gop-lawmaker-says-chinese-spies-hacked-him-5467671\">GOP Lawmaker Says Chinese Spies Hacked Him<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/15\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/gop-lawmaker-says-chinese-spies-hacked-him-5467671\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/what-could-cyber-attacks-like-chinas-volt-typhoon-do-with-emplaced-malware-5451107\">What Could Cyber Attacks Like\u200b China&#8217;s Volt \u200dTyphoon Do With Emplaced \u2063Malware?<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/9\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/what-could-cyber-attacks-like-chinas-volt-typhoon-do-with-emplaced-malware-5451107\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote><p>Among the individuals\u2063 whose email\u2063 systems were breached\u2063 were Commerce\u200b Secretary \u200cGina Raimondo, \u2062U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, and Assistant Secretary of State for East \u200bAsia Daniel Kritenbrink. Rep. Don Bacon\u200d (R-Neb.) in August <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/gop-lawmaker-says-chinese-spies-hacked-him-5467671\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> \u2063 he was also a \u200dvictim of the hacking campaign.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p>Microsoft said the\u2063 Chinese hackers had likely exploited the crash of \u200dthe company\u2019s internal system in April 2021 that leaked the key, which the engineer\u2019s corporate account had access to. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-hack-of-microsoft-engineer-opened-door-to-us-government-email-breach\/\" title=\"Chinese hackers gained access to the email account of a Microsoft engineer, leading to a breach of US government emails.\">hacker group subsequently forged \u200bcredentials<\/a> to compromise Microsoft\u2019s\u200d Outlook on the web (OWA) and Outlook systems.\u2063 The tech giant said it has corrected the \u2062technical vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200d hacking attempt surfaced at a sensitive time. The investigation\u200d began the same day that Secretary of State Antony Blinken \u200cheaded to China to engage with senior Chinese officials, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/border-crisis-gets-zero-coverage-on-cnn-msnbcs-top-shows\/\" title=\"Border Crisis Gets Zero Coverage on CNN, MSNBC\u2019s Top Shows\">highest-ranking official<\/a>\u2063 under \u2064the\u2064 Biden \u200badministration to do so. CNN, citing two unnamed U.S. \u200bofficials, reported\u2062 in July that the Biden administration believes the hacking operation had given Beijing clues about U.S. thinking ahead \u2064of the U.S. visit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote><p>Concerns over the hack \u200cin August led the House Committee on Oversight and\u2062 Accountability to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/committee-on-oversight-summons-blinken-raimondo-for-briefing-on-chinese-states-cyberattacks-5444235\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">request<\/a> a briefing with Mr. Blinken and Ms. Raimondo to learn about \u2064the \u200cimpact\u2062 of the cyberattacks on\u200b their institutions.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote><p>In July, Sen.\u2062 Mark Warner (D-Va.), chairman of the Senate Select Committee\u200b on Intelligence, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/us-government-emails-hacked-by-chinese-malicious-actor-5396136\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> the hack demonstrates the urgency for the U.S. government and\u2064 the private sector to closely coordinate to counter \u200bthe Chinese threats. It\u2019s clear, he said, that Beijing is \u201csteadily improving its cyber\u200c collection capabilities directed against the U.S. and our \u200dallies.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p>The breach also\u200c called attention to Microsoft\u2019s security system. The Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Cyber Safety Review Board, a \u2062panel of\u200b government \u2062and industry experts, has launched a probe to examine the potential systemic risk in cloud computing.<\/p>\n<p>The Microsoft breach represents only a \u200ddrop\u200d in the cyberattacks from China.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote><p>Cybersecurity firm Mandiant in June said\u2062 state-backed Chinese hackers had exploited a loophole \u200cto intrude into the networks of \u200dhundreds of public and private sector organizations around the globe\u2014a third of the breach involved government agencies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>Cyber Espionage<\/h3>\n<p>Microsoft and various cybersecurity agencies under the\u2063 Five Eyes alliance in\u200b May also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/china-backed-hackers-targeting-critical-us-infrastructure-microsoft-and-five-eyes-warn-5290026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">warned<\/a> about malicious activities from \u2062Chinese cyber espionage \u2064group Volt Typhoon \u200btargeting\u2062 a wide range\u200d of networks across U.S. \u2063critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>According to Microsoft, \u2063these hackers attempted to \u200d&#8221;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-spy-group-could-disrupt-critical-us-infrastructure-analysis-warns\/\" title=\"Chinese spies may disrupt US infrastructure, warns analysis.\">disrupt critical communications infrastructure<\/a> between the United States and Asia region during future crises,&#8221; \u200bincluding manufacturing, utility, \u2064transportation, construction, maritime, government, information technology, and education sectors.<\/p>\n<p>The company also noted the risk for military facilities in\u2063 Guam in the Western \u200bPacific that are key in responding \u200dto \u2064conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a \u2063fairly rare thing\u200b to put out something like this \u200bso publicly and, of course, it runs a risk of \u2063frightening people, and we probably have good reasons\u2064 to be frightened,&#8221; Thomas Patrick Keenan, a professor at \u2062the University of Calgary, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/five-eyes-notice-on-china-cyberattacks-should-be-taken-very-seriously-in-canada-professor-says-5294150\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> The Epoch Times earlier.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p>Ms. Raimondo said she has\u2063 challenged Chinese officials\u2062 over the e<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Chinese hack of US officials&#8217; emails started with breaching a Microsoft engineer&#8217;s account. Microsoft revealed that the hacking group, Storm-0558, gained access to a cryptographic key through this account, enabling them to later infiltrate hundreds of thousands of emails.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":361,"featured_media":2024871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2024870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2024870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/361"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2024870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2024870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2024871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2024870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2024870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2024870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}