China Hacked Treasury Dept. in ‘Major’ Breach, U.S. Says

A Chinese intelligence agency reportedly breached the U.S. Treasury Department, gaining access to government employees’ workstations and unclassified documents, according to the Biden administration on Monday. This latest incident adds to a growing list of high-profile surveillance operations targeting major American institutions.

While the initial report from the Treasury Department did not clarify the specific motives behind the hack, senior officials with access to the breach’s details indicated that the operation appeared to be purely for espionage purposes. It was not part of broader Chinese efforts to insert malicious software into critical U.S. infrastructure, such as utility grids or water supply systems, which could potentially disrupt essential services.https://wordpress.com/

In a letter to lawmakers, the Treasury Department explained that it had been alerted on December 8 by BeyondTrust, a third-party software service provider, about a hacker obtaining a security key. This key granted the hacker remote access to certain workstations and documents within the Treasury.

“The incident has been attributed to a China state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor,” the Treasury’s letter stated. “Under Treasury policy, such intrusions are classified as major cybersecurity incidents.”

The Chinese government has long been interested in the Treasury Department’s operations, which include sensitive data about global financial systems and the Chinese economy. The department is also responsible for enforcing sanctions against Chinese entities, including those linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Chinese intelligence gained access to email accounts used by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo during her deliberations on new export controls for advanced semiconductors. Similar attempts were made against officials in the State Department.

However, the announcement about the Treasury breach comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Biden administration, which is already dealing with a major hack that has affected critical U.S. infrastructure. A recent string of revelations revealed how the Chinese intelligence group, Salt Typhoon, infiltrated at least nine major U.S. telecommunications companies.

The breach exposed significant vulnerabilities in the U.S. telecom system, giving the hackers access to both text messages and phone conversations. Among the targets were commercial, unencrypted phone lines used by President-elect Donald J. Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance, and top national security officials. It is still unclear whether the hackers were able to listen in on any of these conversations.

In addition, the Salt Typhoon group obtained a nearly complete list of phone numbers the U.S. Justice Department had wiretapped to monitor suspected criminals and spies. This breach has raised concerns among counterintelligence officials, who fear that Beijing could gain insight into which U.S. spies it has identified and which ones remain undetected.

The Treasury Department has collaborated with the FBI, intelligence agencies, and other investigators to assess the impact of the breach. The affected service has been disabled, and the department has found no evidence that the Chinese hackers still have access to its systems.

A Treasury spokesperson emphasized that the department takes cybersecurity threats seriously and will continue working with both the private sector and other government agencies to safeguard the financial system.

While the Treasury did not specify when the hack occurred, it promised to provide more details in a future report to Congress.

Chinese officials have consistently denied any involvement in hacking activities and have expressed interest in collaborating with the U.S. on cybersecurity issues. Earlier this month, Treasury officials traveled to China for a round of meetings with their counterparts, focusing on economic and financial cooperation, including cybersecurity.

In response to the Salt Typhoon attack, the U.S. Commerce Department recently announced it would ban the remaining operations of China Telecom, one of China’s largest communications firms, from the United States.United States.