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Chinese hackers breach Secy Raimondo’s emails

Multiple officials said the attack was aimed at individual email accounts, rather than a large-scale exfiltration of data, which Chinese hackers are suspected of having done before…reports Asian Lite News

Chinese hackers breached the email of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and State Department officials in the weeks before State Secretary Antony Blinken visited Beijing in June, New York Times reported citing US officials.

The investigation is underway but the US officials, on Wednesday, downplayed the idea that the Chinese hackers, who are likely to be part of the military or spy services, have stolen the sensitive information, insisting that no classified email or cloud systems were penetrated. The State Department’s cybersecurity team first discovered the intrusion.

Raimondo, who has been one of the most outspoken critics of Beijing in the administration, was among the targets, according to two U.S. officials.

Recently, she tightened export controls on China, threatening to cut off the country’s supply of US semiconductor technology if it provides the chips to Russia. Raimondo is also expected to visit China by the end of the summer, reported New York Times.

Based on their preliminary investigation, officials believe she was the only cabinet-level official to be successfully hacked. The hackers were not able to acquire emails in Blinken’s Microsoft 365 account, even as they got access to other State Department email boxes, officials said.

Multiple officials said the attack was aimed at individual email accounts, rather than a large-scale exfiltration of data, which Chinese hackers are suspected of having done before.

US President Joe Biden’s administration officials declined to give a full accounting of which the hackers had targeted officials.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Microsoft revealed that the Chinese hackers with the intention to collect intelligence on the US have gained access to government email accounts.

The attack was targeted, according to a person briefed on the intrusion into the government networks, with the hackers going after specific accounts rather than carrying out a broad-brush intrusion that would suck up enormous amounts of data, as per the New York Times.

It is pertinent to mention that the State Department discovered the intrusion on June 16 and informed Microsoft that day, just ahead of Blinken’s trip to Beijing, a US official said. He departed from Washington that evening.

After Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen also visited Beijing. President Biden and Xi Jinping, Chinese Premier, agreed in a meeting in Bali, Indonesia, last November to try to stabilize relations, but tensions between the two nations ramped up when the Pentagon discovered and shot down a Chinese spy balloon that was floating over the continental United States in early February.

After the discovery of the spy balloon hovering in US skies, Blinken’s visit to China in February was cancelled. In a statement on Wednesday, the State Department said that after detecting “anomalous activity,” the government took steps to secure the systems and “will continue to closely monitor and quickly respond to any further activity.”

After the State Department reported the hack to Microsoft, the company found that the hackers had also targeted some 25 organizations, including government agencies, according to New York Times. (ANI)

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-Top News London News UK News

New email puts Boris under pressure over lockdown parties

PM’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings claimed last week that a drinks party had been held in the Downing Street garden in May 2020 despite warnings by him that it was against the rules, reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s staff were invited to a “bring your own booze” party in the garden of his Downing Street residence during the first nationwide coronavirus lockdown in 2020, according to a leaked email seen by broadcaster ITV.

Johnson, who won a landslide victory in a 2019 election, has faced a barrage of criticism over allegations that there were parties in breach of Covid-19 rules in government offices, including his own.

Around 40 staff gathered in the garden for the drinks party, including Johnson and his wife Carrie, ITV said, even though at the time social mixing between households was limited to two people outdoors.

An email was sent by the Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds to over 100 employees in Downing Street on May 20, 2020, ITV said. The leaked email asked them to bring alcohol to the party and to “make the most of the lovely weather.”

“After what has been an incredibly busy period it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No10 garden this evening,” Reynolds said in the email. “Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!“

Johnson’ office declined to comment.

At the time, schools were shut to most pupils, and pubs and restaurants were closed, with strict controls on social mixing. Two people from different households were allowed to meet outdoors but only if they maintained a distance of 2 meters.

Johnson will be under pressure to explain his own role in the gathering. His premiership has been badly tarnished by controversies in recent months, leading to warnings from some of his lawmakers that he could face a leadership challenge.

The opposition Labour Party accused Johnson of having “no regard for the rules he puts in place for the rest of us.” The Scottish National Party called the email “utterly outrageous.”

London’s police, which previously declined to investigate claims of government officials gathering during the national lockdowns, said on Monday it was in contact with the Cabinet Office after “widespread reporting” of breaches of health protection laws in Downing Street.

A senior government official, Sue Gray, is investigating allegations that at least five parties were held in government departments last year during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Johnson’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings claimed last week that a drinks party had been held in the Downing Street garden in May 2020 despite warnings by him that it was against the rules.

When the prime minister was asked earlier on Monday if he and Carrie Johnson had attended the event, he declined to answer, saying: “All that, as you know, is the subject of a proper investigation by Sue Gray.”

The allegations of officials holding events in breach of the government’s own lockdown rules, including a Christmas party, have dismayed voters who were told by the government to carefully stick to social distancing rules.

Johnson, 57, has faced criticism in recent months over his handling of a sleaze scandal, the awarding of lucrative COVID contracts, the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat and a claim he intervened to ensure pets were evacuated from Kabul during the chaotic Western withdrawal in August.

Johnson’s Conservatives have lost their lead in opinion polls over the Labour Party and last month suffered an election defeat in a historic stronghold, stepping up pressure from his own lawmakers to reform his team of advisers.

Britain’s official death toll from the pandemic rose above 150,000 on Saturday, the second highest in absolute terms in Europe, behind only Russia’s.

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