By Cory Bennett – 08/10/15 09:42 AM EDT
Chinese hackers have infiltrated the private email accounts for “many” top Obama administration officials, NBC News reports.
The espionage scheme stretches back to at least April 2010 and is still ongoing, according to a secret briefing document and a senior official quoted by NBC.
While the Beijing-backed digital spies have not been able to crack government email accounts, private email accounts hosted by companies like Google have been widely compromised.
The senior official told NBC News that “all top national security and trade officials” have been targeted in the email grab.”
“In addition to pilfering potentially useful intelligence information, the hackers apparently also stole email address books to launch targeted cyberattacks on the officials’ contacts,” the official said.
The revelation raises questions about whether former secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email was among those compromised during this period.