First Major Chinese Hacking Attack Since Biden Inauguration... White House Calls It "Highly Threatening"

US Companies, Government Offices, and Military Authorities Targeted Software... Unrelated to Last Year's 'SolarWinds'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] A hacker group supported by the Chinese government has exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft (MS) email and messenger servers to attack more than 60,000 U.S. companies and government agencies.

This large-scale hacking damage was revealed after the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration, and the impact is growing as the targeted programs are widely used by U.S. companies, government offices, and even military authorities. The White House is also closely monitoring the related attacks and urged active responses.

On the 7th (local time), major foreign media including The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that hacking attacks targeting companies, state governments, local governments, and schools using MS's email and messenger 'Exchange' have continued from January this year until recently.

The WSJ cited experts saying that the hacking attacks were carried out by the hacker group 'Hafnium,' sponsored by the Chinese government, and that this is a case where widely used programs were hacked to cause extensive damage.

The hacker group exploited security vulnerabilities in MS Exchange to infiltrate email accounts and installed malware that could monitor emails. According to the British BBC, they attempted to steal information from groups such as COVID-19 pandemic researchers, law firms, higher education institutions, and defense contractors.

Bloomberg News, citing a U.S. government official familiar with the matter, reported that the number of affected MS customers is at least 60,000, and this attack is escalating into a 'global security crisis' not only in the U.S. but worldwide. As investigations continue, the scale of damage is increasing, with some analyses suggesting it could exceed 250,000.

Although hacking attacks suspected to be backed by China have occurred several times before, this attack is a large-scale hacking damage case revealed after the Joe Biden administration took office. Moreover, MS Exchange is software widely used by U.S. companies, government offices, and even military authorities, which is why the impact is significant.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a related briefing, "(This is) a very active threat," and "We are concerned that many victims exist."

She added, "All users of the attacked services in government, private sector, and academia should take measures such as applying patches," and "We are closely reviewing what happened and what the next steps should be."

The Chinese authorities deny the hacking allegations. According to BBC, in an interview with U.S. media, Chinese authorities stated, "It is not true that China is behind this hacking," and refuted the U.S. accusations of cybercrime.

Meanwhile, MS stated in a press release, "We are conducting security investigations in close cooperation with U.S. government agencies," and explained, "This attack is completely unrelated to the SolarWinds hacking attack that struck U.S. government agencies at the end of last year."