Chinese hackers stole emails from US State Dept in Microsoft breach, says Senate staffer

A Senate employee told Reuters on Wednesday that Chinese hackers who infiltrated Microsoft’s email network this year stole tens of thousands of emails from US State Department accounts.

The worker, who was present at a briefing by State Department IT personnel, stated that the authorities informed senators that 60,000 emails were taken from ten State Department accounts. According to the briefing data given through email by the worker who declined to be identified, nine of those victims worked in East Asia and the Pacific, while one worked in Europe.

The staffer works for Senator Eric Schmitt.

Chinese state-linked hackers hacked email accounts at roughly 25 organisations, including the US Commerce and State Departments, according to US authorities and Microsoft in July. The extent of the compromise is unknown.