Wall Street Journal is hit by cyberattack that security expert links to China
- ‘We believe they are likely involved in espionage activities to collect intelligence to benefit China’s interests,’ says expert hired to investigate the attack
- Newspaper says the hackers ‘accessed emails and documents of some employees, including journalists’
The Wall Street Journal was hit with a “persistent” cyberattack by a foreign government that stole data from the company, the newspaper’s parent NewsCorp said on Friday, and a cybersecurity firm hired to investigate the attack said the hackers had likely been spying for China.
“Mandiant assesses that those behind this activity have a China nexus,” said Dave Wong, a vice-president at the cybersecurity company retained by NewsCorp that was formerly known as FireEye. “We believe they are likely involved in espionage activities to collect intelligence to benefit China’s interests.”
The announcement comes as Washington continues to raise the alarm about Chinese cyberattacks against the US – and as Beijing continues to crack down on US news organizations operating in the country, including The Wall Street Journal.
China kicked out American reporters employed by The Journal and other US newspapers in 2020, and is considered by press freedom advocates to be one of the world’s most oppressive countries for journalists.
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The cyberattack was first reported by The Journal, which said the hackers “accessed emails and documents of some employees, including journalists”.