Secretary of State John Kerry says it's 'very likely' Russia and China read his emails

(Image credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

published 12 August 2015

Not even Secretary of State John Kerry can keep prying eyes away from his private messages, apparently. In an interview Tuesday on CBS, Kerry told Evening News anchor Scott Pelley that he basically assumes Russia and China are reading his emails. "It is very likely," he said. "It is not outside the realm of possibility, and we know they have attacked a number of American interests over the course of the last few days."

Kerry says that the U.S. government is well aware of the potential for cyber security breaches, despite the fact that they spend billions of dollars annually to beef up security against such attacks. Given that, Kerry says he plays it safe when he sends an email and that he "certainly writes things with that awareness."

Just this week, NBC News reported that the Chinese government has likely been reading the emails of top U.S. officials since "at least" April 2010. Meanwhile, Russia is believed to have launched a 'sophisticated cyberattack' on the Pentagon's Joint Staff unclassified email system just last month.