US Says Chinese Hackers Breached Treasury Systems, Beijing Rejects Washington "Smear Attack"

On December 30, 2024, the US Treasury Department confirmed that China-backed hackers had infiltrated its systems in a major cybersecurity breach. Assistant Secretary for Management Aditi Hardikar disclosed that the hackers used a stolen key to remotely access Treasury workstations. The breach, attributed to a Chinese state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor, compromised unclassified documents. A third-party software provider, BeyondTrust, first reported the breach on December 8, revealing that hackers exploited a stolen key tied to their service. Both AT&T and Verizon also confirmed cyberattacks by the Chinese intelligence group Salt Typhoon, targeting major US telecom firms and gaining access to sensitive communications. The US Commerce Department responded by banning China Telecom operations in the US, while CISA urged senior political figures to switch to encrypted apps. Despite denials from China, the US government continues to strengthen efforts to protect national systems and interests. #cybersecurity

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