Chinese hackers had access to EU diplomatic messages for years
In this way they were able to download messages exchanged between diplomats, writes The New York Times based on the findings of internet security firm Area 1.
According to the company, the hackers are affiliated with the Chinese intelligence service. An Area 1 expert says there is "no doubt" that the attack was carried out by the Chinese government.
The messages between diplomats were about the meeting between the US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, last July in Helsinki.
Diplomatic communication is classified with a low level of confidentiality. More sensitive information was stored on a separate system, or can be found in systems that are not connected to the Internet at all.
'Hack was not advanced'
According to the internet security company Area 1, which discovered the hack, the hackers gained access to the European communication system in a relatively simple way. "There was nothing really sophisticated about it," says the company's director against The New York Times.
The hackers would have sent malicious e-mails to diplomats in Cyprus, after which they gained access to the system of that country. There they got access to passwords needed to view the database with cable messages from the European Union.
The Secretariat of the European Union tells The New York Times "to be aware of the accusations of a potential leak of sensitive information and to actively investigate the case". The American intelligence service NSA also says that it is doing research.