Cybersecurity
US Blames China for Treasury Breach Amid Telecom Hacking Spree
- Hacker accessed Treasury workstations, unclassified documents
- Treasury says ‘no evidence’ hacker continues to have access
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The US Treasury Department said it was hacked by a Chinese state-sponsored actor, calling it a “major cybersecurity incident” just days after the Biden administration said the country is behind a vast cyber-espionage campaign that’s ensnared nine telecommunications companies.
Working through an outside software provider, hackers illegally accessed a “key used by the vendor to secure a cloud-based service” that, in turn, provides technical support to Treasury Department users, the agency said in a letter to Congress. The software provider, BeyondTrust Inc., informed Treasury of the breach on Dec. 8, according to the letter, which was reviewed by Bloomberg.