Advertisement
US congressman Don Bacon says Chinese Microsoft spies hacked his emails
- Bacon, who has backed US weapons sales to Taiwan, said the breach was the result of a ‘vulnerability in Microsoft software’
- China’s embassy called the allegations part of a ‘groundless narrative’
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
5
Republican US Representative Don Bacon late on Monday said the FBI had warned him that his emails had been hacked by Chinese spies, with both personal and campaign messages compromised.
Bacon was told the Chinese Communist Party had access to his accounts for about a month ending on June 16, he said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The news was first reported on Monday by The Washington Post.
Advertisement
The hack was the result of a “vulnerability in Microsoft software”, Bacon said, an apparent reference to the hacking campaign that Microsoft disclosed last month, which reportedly resulted in the theft of hundreds of thousands of emails from senior US officials, including US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.
CNN previously reported that email accounts in the US House of Representatives were targeted as part of the same campaign.
“There were other victims in this cyber operation,” Bacon said on X. “The Communist government in China are not our friends and are very active in conducting cyber espionage.”
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x