Washington Post journalists who cover China had their email accounts hacked: report

Several journalists at The Washington Post who cover China had their email accounts compromised in a suspected cyberattack that may have been carried out by a foreign government, according to the Wall Street Journal.The breach, which affected Microsoft email accounts, potentially gave the intruders access to the contents of reporters’ work emails, including messages sent and received, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.Those targeted include members of the Post’s national security and economic policy teams who cover China.In a memo sent to staff on Sunday, Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray warned of a “possible targeted unauthorized intrusion into our email system” and said the company believes “a limited number of journalists’ accounts were affected.”According to the memo, the breach was discovered Thursday evening, and an investigation is now underway.Murray, who previously handled a similar security breach while serving as editor in chief of the Journal, also stated that “we do not believe this unauthorized intrusion impacted any additional Post systems or has had any impact for our customers.”The employees affected by the cyberattack were notified in recent days and told not to discuss the matter publicly, according to the Journal.Law enforcement officials and cybersecurity experts told the Journal that journalists are common targets for nation-state hackers, who aim to collect sensitive information through their communications with sources.These operations often involve sophisticated surveillance tools and are sometimes linked to intelligence-gathering efforts by foreign governments.In 2022, the Journal reported that hackers had breached the systems of its parent company, News Corp, dating back to at least early 2020.That attack, which also targeted journalists, allowed unauthorized access to emails, documents, and article drafts.A cybersecurity consultant for News Corp concluded that the breach was “like...