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An actor linked to the Chinese government recently hacked the US Treasury Department in a “major incident,” officials announced Monday.
In a letter obtained by FOX Business, the Treasury Department disclosed the incident to the leadership of the Senate Banking Committee. Officials learned of the breach on December 8.
The cybercriminal reportedly gained access to Treasury Department workstations and documents via a security key.
“After the Treasury was alerted by the service provider, we immediately contacted the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and have been working with law enforcement partners across government to ascertain the impact of this incident,” the spokesperson said.
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The US Treasury Building, pictured Friday, July 16, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“The compromised BeyondTrust service has been taken offline and there is no evidence to indicate that the threat actor continued to access Treasury systems or information.”
The news comes as state-linked Chinese hackers continue an espionage campaign against the US government. Last week, the White House said Chinese officials gained access to the private texts and phone conversations of Americans through the targeting of a US telecommunications company – the ninth telecom company to be affected by Chinese hackers.
Speaking to reporters, deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger said the government was planning further action in the coming weeks in response to the hacking campaign, but did not reveal specific details.
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The Treasury Department building is seen in Washington, DC, on August 29, 2022. ((Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Neuberger said the number of Americans affected by the latest telecom attack is unknown because Chinese hackers are careful to cover their tracks. Many of the victims were located in Washington, DC and Virginia.
“We believe it was intended to identify who those phones belonged to and whether they were targets of government interest for further spying and intelligence gathering of the communications, texts and phone calls on those particular phones,” she explained.
Salt Typhoon, which is what US officials call the Chinese government’s espionage unit, has been active for the past four years. It is not known if the latest Treasury incident involves Salt Typhoon or another CCP-related actor.
Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds during the joint press conference of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, north China’s Shaanxi province on May 19, 2023. (Photo by FLORENCE LO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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FOX Business reached out to the Treasury Department for more information, but it did not immediately respond.
Landon Mion of FOX Business contributed to this report.
