The software behemoth has not specified where the government organizations are situated. The US Department of Commerce, however, has told the BBC that Microsoft informed it of the attack. According to accounts, the breach also affected Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce.
According to a US Department of Commerce spokeswoman who talked to the BBC, “Microsoft notified the Department of a compromise to Microsoft’s Office 365 system, and the Department took swift action to respond.”
The State Department was reportedly among the organizations targeted by the hackers, according to US media. “We are monitoring our systems and will respond immediately should any more activity be identified,” they added. An inquiry from the BBC for comment was not immediately answered by the State Department.
The US government was referred to by the Chinese embassy in London as “the world’s biggest hacker empire and global cyber thief,” and the claim was “disinformation,” the Reuters news agency was told. Microsoft claimed that the Chinese hacking collective Storm-0558 had gained access to email accounts by creating fake digital authentication tokens that the system requires.
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Global Cyber Hacking
Often, the tokens are used to confirm a person’s identification. Storm-0558 focuses on espionage, data theft, and credential access, the company added, and “mainly targets government entities in Western Europe.”
According to the business’s investigations, the breaches started around the middle of May. The company stated it has now “mitigated the attack and informed impacted clients.” Chinese hackers were accused of attacking vital infrastructure on American military sites in Guam using “stealthy” malware in May, according to Microsoft and Western espionage agencies.
According to experts, it was one of the largest cyberespionage operations against the US. Guam’s ports and air bases would be essential to any Western reaction to an Asian conflict since it has a significant US military presence.
The Microsoft study was criticized by Beijing as “very unprofessional” and “disinformation.” No matter the context or available evidence, China constantly denies involvement in hacking operations.
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Source: BBC News
