New York (TIP)- China has hacked e-mails used by staff members of committees in the US House of Representatives as part of a cyberespionage campaign known as Salt Typhoon, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
China accessed e-mail systems used by some staffers on the House China committee, as well as aides on panels covering foreign affairs, intelligence and the armed services, the report said.
One person familiar with the alleged hacking told the Financial Times that it was unclear whether the attackers had accessed lawmakers’ e-mails in the intrusions, which were detected last month. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
The White House had no immediate comment.
In November last year, the US Senate sergeant at arms notified multiple congressional offices of a “cyberincident,” in which hackers might have accessed communications between the Congressional Budget Office, which provides key financial research data to lawmakers, and some Senate offices.
US officials have previously alleged that the hacking group is prepositioning itself to paralyze critical US infrastructure in case of a conflict with China.
Beijing has repeatedly denied being behind the intrusions.
Early last year, the US imposed sanctions on alleged hackers, accusing them of being involved in Salt Typhoon.
China yesterday said that it was against “politically motivated disinformation” in relation to the report.
“We have always opposed and lawfully combated hacker activities, and we are even more opposed to spreading false information related to China for political purposes,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference when asked about the cyberattack.
China hacked e-mails of US Congress staff: Report
