WASHINGTON — Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., revealed this week that he was a victim of a hacking operation by the same suspected Chinese spies who breached the Microsoft accounts of government officials earlier this year.
In July, Microsoft and the White House issued a statement that Chinese spies broke into email accounts of some government agencies and other organizations in an attempt to acquire sensitive information, according tomultiple reports.
Bacon wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Monday that the FBI notified him that the suspected hackers also breached into his personal and campaign emails from May 15 to June 16 of this year and “utilized a vulnerability in the Microsoft software.”
“This was not due to ‘user error,’” Bacon added.
The hackers had also accessed unclassified accounts of State Department and Commerce Department officials, including the U.S. ambassador to China Gina Raimondo, CNN reported, in addition to targeting the email accounts of lawmakers.
Bacon’s spokesperson told Reuters that the congressman may have been targeted because of his support for Taiwan and criticism of China on their treatment of the Uyghur community.
Bacon, who’s long been critical of China, said in another post that he will work overtime “to ensure Taiwan gets every $ of the $19B in weapons backlog they’ve ordered, and more.”
“I will not back down,” Bacon, who also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said. “I will always stand up for freedom and human rights around the world.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the FBI for comment.
