Chinese Hack of Microsoft Engineer Opened Door to US Government Email Breach

A Chinese hacking group hacked the account of a Microsoft engineer, giving it access to a cryptographic key the group later used to break into U.S. government accounts.

An unnamed Chinese hacker using his computer at an office in Dongguan, in China's southern Guangdong Province, on Aug. 4, 2020. Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

The recently uncovered Chinese hack of hundreds of thousands of emails from top U.S. officials began with the breach of a Microsoft engineer’s account, the company stated on Sept. 6.

The Chinese hacking group, which Microsoft dubbed Storm-0558, penetrated the engineer’s account, giving it access to a cryptographic key that the group later used to break into the U.S. government accounts, Microsoft said in a blog post after a months-long investigation.