Chinese hackers breached Microsoft, stole more than 60,000 US state department emails

Chinese hackers have reportedly infiltrated Microsoft's email platform, pilfering over 60,000 emails from U.S. State Department accounts, as per a Senate staffer's disclosure to CNN.

The staffer, present at an IT briefing by the State Department, stated that the theft involved 10 State Department accounts.

Nine victims were working on affairs related to East Asia and the Pacific, whilst one was focused on Europe. The staffer, choosing to remain anonymous, is an employee of Senator Eric Schmitt. The U.S. officials and Microsoft had previously reported in July that Chinese state-associated hackers had accessed email accounts of approximately 25 organisations, including the U.S. Commerce and State Departments, since May.

The full extent of this compromise is yet to be determined. The U.S.'s claims of China's involvement have further strained the already taut ties between the two nations, with Beijing denying the allegations. The compromised State Department accounts were largely involved in Indo-Pacific diplomacy efforts.

The hackers also managed to procure a comprehensive list of the department's emails, as revealed in the Wednesday briefing. This extensive hack has thrust the spotlight back onto Microsoft's significant role in providing IT services to the U.S. government.

The State Department is transitioning towards 'hybrid' environments with various vendor companies and is enhancing the adoption of multi-factor authentication to safeguard its systems, as per the officials at the briefing.

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