US Charges China with Microsoft Exchange Email Hack
Despite China’s denials, the U.S. government claims they were wholly responsible for the Microsoft Exchange hack in January.
Landwebs
The Joe Biden administration has blamed China for a hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software that compromised tens of thousands of computers around the world earlier this year, reports the Associated Press. The administration and allied nations also disclosed a broad range of other cyberthreats from Beijing, including ransomware attacks from government-affiliated hackers that have targeted companies with demands for millions of dollars. The Justice Department has also announced charges against four Chinese nationals who prosecutors said were working with the Ministry of State Security in a hacking campaign that targeted dozens of computer systems, including companies, universities and government entities.
The attack, in which an unidentified American company received a high-dollar ransom demand, also gave U.S. officials new insight into what one official said was “the kind of aggressive behavior that we’re seeing coming out of China.” The Microsoft Exchange hack was first identified in January and was rapidly attributed to Chinese cyberspies by private sector groups. An advisory from the FBI, the National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency laid out specific techniques and ways that government agencies and businesses can protect themselves. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, asked about the Microsoft Exchange hack, has previously said that China “firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms” and cautioned that attribution of cyberattacks should be based on evidence and not “groundless accusations.
