Chinese hackers nab 60,000 emails in State Department breach

Hackers linked to the Chinese government stole around 60,000 emails from the unclassified inboxes of 10 State Department employees as part of a high-profile hack earlier this summer, according to a readout from a Senate staff briefing on Wednesday.

The new details of the previously known hacking incident, which also impacted Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, are likely to only exacerbate concerns on Capitol Hill about Chinese hacking efforts, which have ramped up this year.

Eye on the Pacific: According to a Senate staffer for Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), granted anonymity in order to discuss a private briefing, top officials from the State Department revealed the new details of the hack during a Capitol Hill briefing for staffers.

The officials, who included State Department Chief Information Officer Kelly Fletcher, told attendees the focus of the hack was on Indo-Pacific diplomatic efforts, with nine of the 10 email accounts breached at the State Department belonging to individuals working on those issues. The other official was focused on Europe.

Among the most sensitive information stolen, the staffer said, were victims’ travel itineraries and diplomatic deliberations. Fletcher also said that 10 Social Security numbers were viewed — or could have been viewed — via the hack.

Beyond State’s walls: The State Department officials said hackers broke into the 10 accounts using a token stolen from a Microsoft engineer and that, in total, 25 entities were impacted by the breach. Both of those figures are consistent with what Microsoft has reported publicly.

Who was there: Roughly three dozen Republican and Democratic staffers attended the meeting overall, with slightly more coming from the GOP, the staffer said.

A spokesperson for the State Department, who remained anonymous as a department policy, said in a statement when asked about the new details that the agency “takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to ensure information is protected. Like every large organization with a global presence, we closely monitor cybersecurity conditions.”

The State Department was better prepared than some of the other organizations hit, as an agency cybersecurity analyst spotted the potential opening for exploitation of email accounts two years ago and helped put in place an alert. It was labeled “Big Yellow Taxi,” as first reported by POLITICO.

The State Department has not formally blamed China for the hack, but Raimondo called out the Chinese government for the hack of her account during a recent visit to China.