China Cyber Attackers Breach Western Europe Govt Emails

Chinese hackers obtained access to around 25 organizations' email accounts, including the US govt

The attack was carried out by hackers forging authentication tokens, which are the information needed to validate the identity of a user who needs to access email accounts. According to Microsoft Corp., a Chinese hacker organization has compromised email accounts associated with Western European government institutions. Microsoft stated in a blog post published Tuesday that the gang, Storm-0558, concentrates on espionage and data theft. 

The gang accessed email accounts impacting over 25 organizations, including government agencies and individual accounts associated with these organizations. It went unnoticed for nearly a month until users complained to Microsoft about unusual mail behavior. In a second Microsoft article, Charlie Bell, Microsoft's senior vice president of security, stated that this adversary is focused on espionage, such as getting access to email systems for intelligence gathering.

The attack was carried out by hackers forging authentication tokens, which are the information needed to validate the identity of a user who needs to access email accounts. Microsoft has subsequently responded to the incident and notified impacted consumers. Microsoft stated that it is collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and others to combat similar threats. It also stated that it would continue to monitor Storm-0558's behavior. Storm-0558 is the most recent security breach determined to have been carried out by Chinese hackers. 

Last month, Google -owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant reported that suspected state-backed Chinese hackers exploited a security hole in a popular email protection program to infiltrate the networks of hundreds of public and private sector companies worldwide. Microsoft stated earlier this year that state-backed Chinese hackers have been targeting vital US infrastructure and may establish the technical framework for future disruptions of crucial communications between the US and Asia. China claims that the US also conducts cyber espionage against it, hacking into systems at its colleges and businesses.