US Congressman says Chinese spies hacked his emails

(Patria) - Republican Don Bacon said the FBI warned him that his emails were hacked by Chinese spies, compromising both personal and campaign messages.

Bacon was told that the Chinese Communist Party had access to his accounts for about a month ending June 16, he said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The hack was the result of a "vulnerability in Microsoft software," Bacon said, an apparent reference to a hacking campaign that Microsoft disclosed last month, which allegedly resulted in the theft of hundreds of thousands of emails from senior U.S. officials, such as U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.

CNN previously reported that email accounts in the U.S. House of Representatives were targeted as part of the same campaign.

"There were other victims in this cyber operation," Bacon said on X.

"The Communist government in China are not our friends and are very active in conducting cyber espionage," he added.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy called the development a "smear" and part of an
"unfounded narrative," adding that the U.S. government had undermined China's sovereignty with its recent arms sales to Taiwan.

Bacon's spokesperson said the FBI informed him that Chinese hackers had compromised his email and stolen information related to personal banking, political strategy, and campaign fundraising.

Bacon, who was elected to Congress in 2016, is a former Air Force brigadier general who currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee, which helps decide the annual budget and spending plans of the U.S. military, Reuters reminds.