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U.S. Treasury says Chinese hackers stole documents in ‘major incident’
The exterior of the U.S. Department of Treasury building is seen as they joined other government financial institutions to bail out Silicon Valley Bank’s account holders after it collapsed on March 13, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
Chinese state-sponsored hackers broke into the U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month and stole documents from its workstations, according to a letter to lawmakers that was provided to Reuters on Monday.
The hackers compromised a third-party cybersecurity service provider and were able to access unclassified documents, the letter said, calling it a “major incident.”
According to the letter, hackers “gained access to a key used by the vendor to secure a cloud-based service used to remotely provide technical support for Treasury Departmental Offices end users. With access to the stolen key, the threat actor was able override the service’s security, remotely access certain Treasury DO user workstations, and access certain unclassified documents maintained by those users.”
After being alerted by cybersecurity provider BeyondTrust, the Treasury Department said it was working with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI to assess the hack’s impact.
BeyondTrust, the CISA and the FBI did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The U.S. Treasury Department has confirmed that Chinese hackers were behind a recent cyberattack in which they stole a significant amount of sensitive documents. The breach, described as a “major incident” by officials, is said to have occurred over the past few months.
In a statement released by the Treasury Department, it was revealed that the hackers gained access to a large number of documents related to economic and trade policy. This includes information on tariffs, trade negotiations, and other key financial matters.
The breach is believed to be part of a larger campaign by Chinese hackers to gather intelligence on U.S. government activities. This comes at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries, particularly in the realm of trade and economic policy.
The U.S. government has vowed to take action in response to the cyberattack, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stating that they are working with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident and strengthen their defenses against future attacks.
This latest breach serves as a stark reminder of the growing threat posed by foreign hackers and the need for increased vigilance in protecting sensitive government information. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.
Tags:
- U.S. Treasury
- Chinese hackers
- Stolen documents
- Major incident
- Cybersecurity breach
- Data theft
- U.S. government
- Cyber attack
- Security breach
- Treasury Department
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