Array
The Biden administration believes that a Chinese hacking operation which breached US government email systems, including the State Department, gave the Chinese government insights about US thinking heading into Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing in June, according to two US officials.
The hack – which Microsoft said was launched in mid-May – was discovered by the State Department right around the time of Blinken’s visit to Beijing, officials said. But it was not immediately clear that China was behind it and it was not widely known about within the department, they said.
The news that the hack allowed China to access information ahead of a crucial visit that US officials hoped would start a reset of relations after months of tensions underlines the complexities of modern diplomacy but it’s unlikely to shock US officials who are well aware that two major global powers spy on each other’s communications.
US officials have consistently labeled China as the most advanced of US adversaries in cyberspace, a domain that has repeatedly been a source of bilateral tension in recent years. The FBI has said Beijing has a larger hacking program than all other governments combined.
