The United States Department of the Treasury on Monday blamed China for breaching its network and gaining access to information, including unclassified documents.
China has denied the allegation, calling it “groundless.”
The alleged hacking incident occurred after Beijing accused Washington of conducting cyberattacks on Chinese technology firms.
As accusations fly between Washington and Beijing, the history of cyberwarfare between the two largest economies is examined to determine if it has escalated.
Who hacked the US Treasury Department?
The US Treasury Department has accused Chinese state-sponsored hackers of infiltrating its system this month and accessing employee workstations along with unclassified documents.
The hackers reportedly bypassed security measures by exploiting a security key provided by the third-party cybersecurity provider BeyondTrust, which offers remote technical support to Treasury employees.
In a letter to the US Congress, the Treasury Department disclosed the attack, attributing it to a China-based Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor. Details such as the number of compromised workstations, the nature of the accessed files, the timeline of the breach, and the confidentiality level of the compromised stations were not specified.
According to reports, Treasury was notified about the breach on December 8 by BeyondTrust, which detected unusual activities on December 2 but took three days to confirm the hack.
How did the US Treasury Department respond?
The Treasury Department stated that there is no evidence of continued access by the hackers to department information, and the compromised BeyondTrust system has been shut down.
The department is currently assessing the impact of the breach with the help of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The incident is being investigated as a major cybersecurity threat.
In its communication to Congress, the department mentioned that additional information about the hack would be provided to US lawmakers within 30 days.
A spokesperson for the Treasury Department emphasized the department’s efforts to strengthen cyber defenses in recent years and its collaboration with public and private sector partners to safeguard the financial system from potential threats.
How has China responded?
China has refuted the accusations made by the US Treasury Department, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemning all forms of hacker attacks.
The Chinese embassy in the US also denied the allegations, urging parties to approach cyber incidents with professionalism and responsibility, based on concrete evidence rather than speculative accusations.
China criticized the US for using cybersecurity to tarnish its image and spread misinformation about alleged Chinese hacking threats.
Are the US and China ramping up cyberattacks against each other?
While the US has accused China of cyberattacks over the years, Beijing has also alleged Washington’s involvement in hacking its critical cyber infrastructure in recent times.
Recent cyber incidents involving both nations have intensified tensions, with each side blaming the other for malicious activities in cyberspace.
