The good news is that U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had already planned a trip to Beijing.
The bad news is that the Biden Administration thinks a hacking operation of U.S. government email systems gave the Chinese government insights into what the U.S. government was thinking before the June trip.
Microsoft was hacked into in mid-May, as reported by CNN Politics, and the hack was discovered by the State Department just as Blinken was about to visit Beijing. Who was behind the hack was not known until later, yet China continues to deny the allegations.
The U.S. has not been in denial of the fact that China spies on the U.S. and the U.S. spies on China.
China’s hacking operation in May yielded limited information because it breached an unclassified system, which U.S. officials generally expect can be hacked at any time.
Microsoft began investigating after customer reports came in on June 16, the day Blinken departed for his trip, according to Microsoft Executive Vice President Charlie Bell.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was also a target of the hack, and she will soon also travel to China.
U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia is Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and has continually warned the U.S. and elected officials of the technological dangers posed by China.
“The Senate Intelligence Committee is closely monitoring what appears to be a significant cybersecurity breach by Chinese intelligence. It’s clear that the PRC is steadily improving its cyber collection capabilities directed against the U.S. and our allies. Close coordination between the U.S. government and the private sector will be critical to countering this threat,” Warner said Wednesday.
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Rebecca Barnabi
