Chinese hackers are blamed for the cyberattacks on Michael Mullen's PCs

Dec 8, 2012 10:20 GMT  ·  By

The US Federal Bureau of Investigations is currently investigating cyberattacks that targeted the computers of Michael Mullen, a retired Navy admiral who served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the cyberattacks targeted the machines utilized by Mullen while he was working at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, after he retired back in 2011.

Authorities took in a couple of computers for forensic analysis back in October and returned them in mid-November.

The attacks have been traced back to China, but the country’s officials are denying any involvement.

Investigators believe that the attackers might have accessed Mullen’s personal email account. The former US Navy admiral is cooperating with investigators.

China has often been named the mastermind of cyber espionage campaigns against the United States. US officials are now trying to determine the exact role of the Chinese government in such operations.

On the other hand, according to a recent report by HP, the US Navy is targeted by around 1,833 cyberattacks every minute.