Treasury Hacked: China's Role and Response

In a surprising turn of events, the U. S. Treasury Department revealed that their systems were breached by Chinese hackers. The intrusion happened after a third-party software service provider was compromised. This allowed hackers to access some workstations and unclassified documents. The Treasury Department assured that the hackers no longer have access to their information. They're working with various agencies to investigate the incident, which they categorized as a "major cybersecurity incident. " This isn't the first time China has been accused of hacking. There's an ongoing investigation into a massive cyberespionage campaign called Salt Typhoon. This campaign gave China access to private communications of many Americans. The Treasury Department found out about their breach on December 8th, when the software service provider, BeyondTrust, alerted them. The hackers used a stolen key to override the service's security, gaining remote access to some employee workstations. The compromised service has been taken offline to prevent further damage. The Treasury Department is working with the FBI and other agencies to understand the full impact of the hack. They've attributed the hack to Chinese state-sponsored actors but haven't provided many details. China, as usual, denied the hacking allegations. They stated they oppose all forms of hacking and accused the U. S. of spreading false information for political purposes. The Treasury Department has been bolstering their cyber defenses over the past four years and plans to continue working with public and private sector partners to protect their financial system.