Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks
,
Fraud Management & Cybercrime
Suspected Chinese state-sponsored hackers reportedly targeted the Washington Post journalists covering national security and economic policy, according to an internal memo and media reports.
See Also: OnDemand | North Korea’s Secret IT Army and How to Combat It
In an internal memo sent to the Washington Post staff on Sunday, Executive Editor Matt Murray said its journalists may have been targeted, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Post told employees to reset their passwords.
“We do not believe this unauthorized intrusion impacted any additional Post systems or has had any impact for our customers,” Murray added.
The publication has not disclosed the identity of victims. The Wall Street Journal reported the hack compromised Microsoft accounts of journalists covering national security and economic policy, including matters related to China.
Neither the Washington Post nor Microsoft responded to requests for comments. The Post is investigating the incident.
The incident marks the second known instance of Chinese hackers targeting the Washington Post. In 2013, the newspaper disclosed a breach of its technology servers and multiple systems that exposed a broad array of internal data.
Chinese state-backed cyber groups frequently target American journalists, government officials, and dissidents abroad in campaigns of espionage and transnational repression. Last year, the Department of Justice indicted seven Chinese nationals linked to a prolific group tracked as APT31 for running a 14-year cyber campaign against critics, businesses, journalists, and political figures worldwide (see: US Indicts Accused APT31 Chinese Hackers for Hire).
The group, also tracked as Judgment Panda and Violet Typhoon, is affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of State Security. The hackers impersonated prominent media outlets and journalists to send phishing emails embedded with tracking links. The links harvested data such as email open times, recipient locations, and IP addresses from their targets.
Chinese nation-state hackers have been known to target email systems. Microsoft in 2023 disclosed that Chinese hackers exploited a Microsoft Outlook token validation flaw to target governments in Europe and the United States (see: China-Based Hacker Hijacked EU, US Government Emails).