US: Hacker attack on email accounts – no classified information tapped Tens of thousands protest against judicial reform in Israel

According to the US government, suspected Chinese hackers gained access to the email accounts of US government officials during an attack. “I emphasize that these were unclassified email accounts, so they did not receive classified information,” US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN on Sunday.

Sullivan did not provide background information on the hackers and did not immediately confirm that China was behind the attack. According to the media, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the issue during a meeting with China’s Supreme Foreign Policy Chief Wang Yi in Jakarta.

Earlier this week, Microsoft said a group of Chinese hackers broke into some customers’ email systems to collect information. A State Department spokesman later said the ministry had “detected abnormal activity”, but did not provide details.

In May, Microsoft said state-backed Chinese hackers were increasingly targeting their critical infrastructure targets in the US. Several organizations were affected by the attacks in areas such as communications, manufacturing, utilities, transportation, construction, maritime, government, information technology and education, it said. China denied the allegations.

Sullivan emphasized that the hackers gained access through Microsoft’s cloud services. “We detected the attack, quickly closed it down and are now taking action to ensure it is not an ongoing vulnerability.” He said of hacker attacks in general, “It’s been like this for a long time, we’re facing things like this in different governments.” In all of these cases, the U.S. government has taken steps to hold those responsible accountable and will continue to do so, Sullivan said. The incident will be further investigated. The email account of US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo was reportedly affected by the attack. (sda/dpa)