Chinese-backed Cyber Attack Targets US Treasury Department
A significant cyber attack targeting the US Department of Treasury has been reported, with hackers gaining access to sensitive information. According to a letter sent by the Ministry to Congress, it was revealed that a “significant incident” had taken place.
The attack, which occurred on December 8, involved hackers gaining access to a cloud service used for providing remote technical support to Treasury Department Offices’ end users. Hackers managed to remotely access some workstations and obtain access to unclassified documents.
It was determined that the attack was carried out by a threat actor supported by the Chinese state. In response to the incident, the compromised BeyondTrust service was immediately taken offline.
The US Department of Treasury has contacted the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to investigate the impact of the attack and is working closely with security forces to address the issue. The department emphasized that there is no evidence to suggest that the threat actor continues to have access to Treasury systems or information.
The Treasury stated that it takes all threats to its systems and data seriously and has significantly strengthened its cyber defenses over the past four years. They are committed to working with both private and public sector partners to safeguard the financial system from future cyber threats.
