China's latest cyberattack illuminates its hidden agenda

In a rare coordinated action on Monday, the United States, Britain, and the European Union condemned Beijing over its exploitation of Microsoft Exchange servers.

The U.S. and Britain have also attributed broader attacks to China’s civilian intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security. In a very telling example of its deference to Beijing, the EU only attributed the Microsoft Exchange attack to actors located on Chinese soil. Still, China’s aggression and ambition here are defining. The Microsoft Exchange attack makes Russia’s recent SolarWinds intrusion look like a polite request for classified information in comparison.