China Hacks Email of American Officials

Nebraska Republican Congressman Don Bacon revealed late Monday that the FBI warned him that Chinese spies had hacked into his email messages. Bacon stated on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that he was informed that the Chinese Communist Party managed to access his accounts for nearly a month ending on June 16. He added that the hack was a result of a "vulnerability in Microsoft software," clearly referring to the hacking campaign revealed by Microsoft last month, which reportedly involved the theft of hundreds of thousands of emails from senior U.S. officials, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns. CNN previously reported that email accounts in the House of Representatives were targeted in the same campaign. Bacon mentioned on X that "there were other victims in this cyber operation. The communist government in China is not our friend and is very active in cyber espionage." The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FBI and Microsoft also did not respond immediately. Bacon, who was elected to Congress in 2016, is a former Brigadier General in the Air Force and currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee, which helps determine the annual budget for the U.S. military and spending plans.