Burns Nicholas (Nicholas Burns)

Burns Nicholas (Nicholas Burns)

Biography

2023: Mail Hacking

On July 20, 2023, it became known that hackers associated with the Chinese authorities hacked the email of the American ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns. The attackers managed to gain access to thousands of letters from US officials.

According to The Wall Street Journal, in addition to Burns' mailbox, Chinese cybercriminals hacked the mail account of US Deputy Secretary of State for East Asia Daniel Kritenbrink. The US State Department declined to provide any details about the incident, noting only that the investigation into the spy operation was ongoing.

It is said that Chinese hackers gained access to the accounts of Burns and Kritenbrink, through which classified information is not sent. However, the stolen correspondence will allow the Chinese authorities to get an idea of ​ ​ some of the events that are being discussed by the American authorities. The letters, in particular, refer to a series of visits by high-ranking American officials to Beijing. A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said the PRC opposes hacker attacks and rejects "baseless" assumptions about their source.

China strongly opposes and fights cyberattacks and cybercrime in all forms. This position is clear and official, "said Chinese spokesman Liu Pengyu.

Chinese cybercriminals reportedly stole one of Microsoft's digital keys and exploited a vulnerability in the Redmond corporation's product code to steal emails from US government agencies and other customers. White House National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge said the intrusion into Microsoft's cloud security system "affected unclassified resources." At the same time, he did not go into any details about the attack.^[1]

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