U.S. Officials Investigating Cyber Threat Aimed at China Trade Talks

U.S. authorities have launched an investigation into a sophisticated malware-laden email that appears designed to glean intelligence on the Trump administration’s sensitive trade negotiations with Beijing, according to Reuters reporting. The malware embedded in the fake email has been traced to APT41, a hacking group long suspected of targeting global industries to support China’s strategic objectives.

The message mimicked draft legislation and asked recipients to review “proposed legislation” as a lure to run the malicious code. If opened, the attachment would have granted attackers extensive access to internal communications and documents of the targeted organisations, according to the Journal’s reporting, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The first of these emails was sent just days before high-level U.S.–China trade talks in Stockholm aimed at extending a tariff truce, with negotiations ongoing to shape positions and proposals; the FBI and the U.S. Capitol Police are examining the incident, and the Chinese Embassy in Washington has denied awareness of the specific cyberattack.