US President Joe Biden is setting up an emergency taskforce to investigate a widespread cyberattack carried out by Chinese hackers that broke into as many as 250,000 organisations around the world.
Multiple US government agencies including the FBI are due to form a Unified Coordination Group as security services attempt to uncover the extent of the breach of Microsoft’s Exchange email service.
There are fears that the hackers, allegedly linked to the Chinese state, could have hidden inside computer systems for months to steal information. The European Banking Authority has said it was hacked as part of the campaign but denied that any personal information was stolen. The White House has called the hack an “active threat.”
Coming up later today: 3pm: US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to hold hearing on the GameStop share price rise
White House probes Microsoft Exchange hack that could have affected 250,000 organisations
The potential scale of the hack of Microsoft Exchange, email server software used by hundreds of thousands of organisations around the world, has prompted a wide-ranging investigation by the US government.
Multiple agencies including the FBI are setting up an emergency taskforce to look into the incident which has been blamed on a hacking group that has close links to the Chinese state.
Concerns about a security flaw in Microsoft Exchange began to surface in January but it’s unclear exactly how long the hack may have gone on for.
So far, the impact of the hack on the UK and Europe is seemingly limited. The European Banking Authority has said its email system was hacked but added that it had seen no evidence of stolen data.
The National Cyber Security Centre, a division of GCHQ, is understood to be investigating the UK impact of the incident.
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3pm: US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to hold hearing on the GameStop share price rise
