China Hacked Email Systems Used by US Congressional Staff, New Report

A sophisticated Chinese hacking group has breached email systems accessed by staffers on critical U.S. House committees, exposing sensitive communications amid escalating cyber tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The Financial Times revealed on Wednesday that the intruders, tracked as Salt Typhoon, targeted aides supporting the House Select Committee on China, as well as panels overseeing foreign affairs, intelligence, and armed services.

Sources familiar with the matter told the FT that the intrusions were detected in December 2025, though it’s unclear whether lawmakers’ personal emails were compromised. No specific staff were named, underscoring the operation’s stealth.

Salt Typhoon, linked by U.S. officials to China’s Ministry of State Security, has intensified attacks on U.S. networks. Previously blamed for infiltrating U.S. telecom giants like Verizon and AT&T, the group extracted vast troves of call records and metadata.

This congressional breach marks an alarming escalation, potentially granting Beijing insights into U.S. policy deliberations on China, military strategy, and espionage countermeasures.

FT reported that Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, rejected the allegations as “baseless speculation and accusations” stemming from anti-China bias.

The FBI declined comment, citing ongoing investigations, while the White House and offices of the targeted committees ignored requests for a response.

Cyberespionage against U.S. legislators is hardly new. Lawmakers and aides handling military, intelligence, and foreign policy have faced persistent threats from nation-states, including Russia and Iran.

A 2024 Senate Intelligence Committee report warned of “persistent and aggressive” Chinese campaigns to harvest unclassified data, which fuels classified decision-making.

Experts fear the Salt Typhoon hack could yield goldmines for Beijing. “Email systems are low-hanging fruit for persistent threats,” said cybersecurity analyst Dmitri Alperovitch, formerly of CrowdStrike. “Even if no secrets were stolen, the metadata alone reveals who talks to whom and when.”

The breach highlights vulnerabilities in congressional IT infrastructure. Despite post-SolarWinds mandates for multi-factor authentication and zero-trust models, legacy systems persist. House administrators have quietly bolstered defenses since detection, but disclosure lags, frustrating transparency advocates.

This incident reignites calls for tougher cyber retaliation. Bipartisan lawmakers, including Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), previously targeted by Chinese hackers, urge designating Salt Typhoon’s actions as cyberattacks warranting sanctions.

As U.S.-China rivalry intensifies from the Taiwan straits to AI arms races, such intrusions erode trust in democratic institutions.

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