Mighty U.S cannot protect itself; Chinese hackers steal sensitive information from Treasury Department; here's what they accessed

Chinese state sponsored hackers breached the security system of US Treasury Department this month while accessing unclassified documents in what officials described as a ‘major incident’, reported Reuters.

According to a letter sent to lawmakers, the hackers compromised a third-party cybersecurity service provider named BeyondTrust which allowed them to gain access to user workstations by exploiting a security key used for remote technical support, asserted Reuters.

According to Reuters, the breach was actually reported to the US Treasury Department this month following alerts from BeyondTrust about certain suspicious activity which was detected earlier in the month. The Treasury Department is collaborating pretty closely with the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to eventually assess the impact of the hack.


Several officials indicated that there is currently no evidence suggesting that the hackers maintain access to Treasury systems.

The foreign ministry of China denied any sort of involvement in the breach while labeling the accusations as unfounded. The incident actually underscores ongoing concerns about cybersecurity threats from China specifically following previous breaches attributed to Chinese hackers targeting US telecommunications, noted Reuters.

The Treasury has now committed to enhancing its cybersecurity measures and will provide further details in an upcoming report to Congress.

FAQs:

Who breached the security system of US Treasury Department this month?

Chinese state sponsored hackers breached the security system of US Treasury Department this month while accessing unclassified documents in what officials described as a ‘major incident’.

What is the stand of the foreign ministry of China regarding this recent incident of hackers breaching the US Treasury Department?

The foreign ministry of China denied any sort of involvement in the breach while labeling the accusations as unfounded.