US lawmakers open probe into suspected Chinese hacking of Commerce and State department emails
- The attack, with targets including the commerce secretary’s account, could reflect a new level of skill and sophistication from the hackers, a House panel says
- The breach is also said to have affected accounts belonging to the US ambassador to China and Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia
The US House of Representatives Oversight Committee said on Wednesday it is opening an investigation into China’s suspected involvement in recent breaches of Commerce and State department email systems.
Congressman James Comer, who chairs the committee, and the heads of two subcommittees asked Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Secretary of State Antony Blinken for staff briefings by August 9.
“We are also concerned that this attack on federal agencies, including the email account of a senior US government official such as yourself, reflects a new level of skill and sophistication from China’s hackers,” the lawmakers wrote Raimondo.
Raimondo was among a group of senior US officials whose emails were hacked earlier this year by a group Microsoft said was based in China, according to a person briefed on the matter. The State and Commerce departments did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Last month’s news that Chinese hackers penetrated the emails of senior State and Commerce department officials caused a stir amid high tensions between Beijing and Washington over a host of issues, from trade to Taiwan.