Suspected Chinese hackers have allegedly breached the personal and campaign email accounts of Republican congressman Rep. Don Bacon, who has been critical of the Chinese government. Bacon’s email account is the first known lawmaker’s account to be hacked in an alleged Chinese espionage campaign. The hackers also breached the unclassified email accounts of senior State Department and Commerce Department officials, including the US ambassador to China and the Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
According to Bacon’s social media post on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter), the hackers had access to his personal and campaign emails for a month. Bacon sits on the House Armed Services and Agriculture committees, making his email content of interest to Chinese policymakers. A spokesperson for Bacon confirmed that the only potentially obtained information may include political strategy, fundraising calls, and possibly some personal banking information.
The FBI informed Bacon about the hack, suggesting that the federal government’s investigation into the cyberattacks is ongoing. Bacon’s support for Taiwan and his criticism of China’s persecution of the Uyghur minority group are seen as possible motivations for the hackers’ interest in his emails. Additionally, due to his background as a retired Air Force brigadier general trained in electronic warfare, Bacon always operates on the assumption that his email is being monitored.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC responded to Bacon’s claim by accusing the US of conducting cyberattacks in China. The hacking campaign, which coincided with Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing in mid-June, has strained US-Chinese diplomatic relations and raised concerns about the US’s ability to protect its officials’ emails from foreign spies. The Biden administration believes that the hacking operation provided Beijing with insights into US officials’ thinking ahead of Blinken’s visit.
The intrusions began in mid-May when China-based hackers used a stolen sign-in key to access email accounts. Microsoft was alerted to the issue when a State Department analyst noticed unusual cyber activity on the department’s computer systems in mid-June. Lawmakers from both parties and chambers have called for investigations into the breach and its impact on federal agencies. The Department of Homeland Security is currently investigating the root causes of the breach.