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The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 20th (local time) that a hacker group linked to China hacked the email accounts of high-ranking U.S. diplomatic officials, including Nicholas Burns, the U.S. Ambassador to China. Amid ongoing visits to China by senior officials such as U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken, there is speculation that China may have engaged in espionage activities.

Nicholas Burns, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea

According to WSJ citing sources, a hacker group connected to the Chinese government accessed the email account of Ambassador Burns and launched attacks infiltrating at least hundreds of thousands of U.S. government emails. Daniel Kritenbrink, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, was also targeted in the email hacking attack alongside Ambassador Burns.

Previously, Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce responsible for semiconductor regulation policies toward China, was also exposed to an email hacking attempt believed to have been initiated by China. As a result, the number of senior Biden administration officials whose email accounts were breached by hackers suspected to be backed by China has risen to three.

However, it is reported that Secretary of State Tony Blinken and his staff’s email accounts were not compromised.

The U.S. government has not issued an official statement but is reportedly attributing the recent hacking to China. Earlier, Chinese hackers were known to have exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft (MS) cloud computing to infiltrate victim agencies’ emails and conduct operations.

WSJ stated that amid escalating U.S.-China tensions, "the email hacking of two senior U.S. diplomatic officials may have leaked information not only about internal U.S. discussions related to China policy but also about the U.S. administration’s plans concerning senior officials’ visits to China." In fact, Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink, whose email was compromised, accompanied Secretary Blinken on his visit to China, and Ambassador Burns was present at the meeting between Secretary Blinken and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The U.S. government described the hacking incident as routine cyber espionage activities commonly conducted between hostile nations to minimize its impact. However, security experts highlight that the hacking occurred at a sensitive time when high-level U.S.-China meetings are resuming.

WSJ quoted security experts and former intelligence officials saying, "(This hacking) took place during a period when diplomatic activities between the U.S. and China, which had been strained for months due to the Ukraine war, the U.S. shooting down of a Chinese surveillance balloon, and increased intelligence cooperation between Cuba and China, are expanding," adding, "In that sense, this attack is not routine but covert and impressive."

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said, "An investigation is currently underway, and for security reasons, no further information about the nature or scope of this cybersecurity incident will be shared," adding, "The government continues to monitor and respond to concerning activities on its networks."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.