Beijing-linked hackers accessed the email account of the US ambassador to China in an espionage operation thought to have compromised at least hundreds of thousands of US government emails, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday, Report informs via Reuters.
Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, was also hacked in the wider spying operation disclosed this month by Microsoft (MSFT.O), the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Asked about the reported breach of the two diplomats' accounts, the State Department declined to give any details and said its investigation of the spying operation was going on.
A spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington said China consistently opposed hacking and it rejected "groundless" speculation about the source of cyber attacks.
"China firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms. This position is consistent and clear," spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in an emailed response to Reuters.