Microsoft accuses China of hacking US government emails
US software giant Microsoft has said China-based hackers have gained access to the email accounts of around 25 organisations, including US government agencies.
Microsoft has not given any details of where the government agencies are based.
US media is reporting that the State Department was targeted and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo was among the individuals impacted by the breach.
China’s embassy in London told the Reuters news agency that the accusation was “disinformation” and called the US government “the world’s biggest hacking empire and global cyber thief.”
Microsoft said the China-based hacking group – which it refers to as Storm-0558 – had accessed email accounts by forging digital authentication tokens required by the system. The tokens are typically used to verify a person’s identity.
