Chinese cyberattack hits US Treasury department, data compromised
PTC News Desk: The United States has alleged a cyberattack by Chinese state-sponsored hackers and accused them of breaching the US Treasury Department's computer security guardrails. The hackers have gained access to US Treasury workstations and unclassified documents, the US Treasury Department notified Congress on Monday.
A US Treasury official revealed that a Chinese state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor used a stolen key to remotely access certain Treasury workstations and unclassified documents, as informed by a third-party software service provider on December 8.
"Based on available indicators, the incident has been attributed to a Chinese state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor," Aditi Hardikar, assistant secretary for management at the US Treasury, wrote in the letter.
According to CNN, Treasury officials are likely to hold a classified briefing next week with the House Financial Services Committee to analyze the breach. However, the exact timing of the briefing is yet to be decided, a senior committee staffer informed CNN.
The third-party software service provider, BeyondTrust, stated that hackers gained access to a key used by the vendor to secure a cloud-based service that the Treasury Department uses for technical support, according to the letter addressed to Senate Banking Committee leadership.
"With access to the stolen key, the threat actor was able to override the service's security, remotely access certain Treasury [Departmental Office] user workstations, and access certain unclassified documents maintained by those users," the Treasury letter said.
- PTC NEWS
