Washington Post journalists are targeted by a suspected foreign-sponsored cyberattack; investigators focus on coverage of China and national security reporters.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the Washington Post is looking into a cyberattack on some of its journalists' email accounts, Reuters reported on Sunday. A few journalists may have been the victims of an unlawful targeted intrusion, according to the source. The breach was initially revealed by the Wall Street Journal, which speculated that a foreign government could have been responsible.

The article claims that Washington Post employees were informed that the attacks affected the Microsoft accounts of journalists and may have allowed the hacker access to work emails. Members of the national security and economic policy teams, including several who cover China, were among the reporters whose emails were targeted.

In an internal message, Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray stated that an investigation had been started on Thursday following the discovery of a breach, according to the WSJ. Digital invaders compromised News Corp, the company that publishes the WSJ, in 2022. That case involved the compromise of the data and email addresses of an unknown number of journalists.