The Treasury Department revealed that it was breached by Chinese hackers in what has been described as a “major cyber security incident.”
In a letter sent to Senate Banking Committee leaders, the Treasury Department said, “On December 8, 2024, Treasury was notified by a third-party software service provider, BeyondTrust, that a threat actor had gained access to a key used by the vendor to secure a cloud-based service used to remotely provide technical support for Treasury Departmental Offices (DO) end users.”
“With access to the stolen key, the threat actor was able [to] override the service’s security, remotely access certain Treasury DO user workstations, and access certain unclassified documents maintained by those users,” the letter said.
The Treasury noted that the compromised system was “taken offline.”
“In accordance with Treasury policy, intrusions attributable to an [Advanced Persistent Threat] are considered a major cybersecurity incident,” the letter read.
“Treasury takes very seriously all threats against our systems, and the data it holds,” a department spokesperson said in a statement. “Over the last four years, Treasury has significantly bolstered its cyber defense, and we will continue to work with both private and public sector partners to protect our financial system from threat actors.”
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson asserted that the “groundless accusations” lack evidence.
“China consistently opposes all forms of hacking, and we are even more opposed to the dissemination of false information against China for political purposes,” the spokesperson said.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) condemned the breach on social media.
“This is unacceptable,” he wrote on X. “As Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the CCP, I’ll be requesting a briefing from the Treasury Department and working with my colleagues to ensure we protect our nation against these types of brazen attacks.”
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) similarly wrote, “This kind of aggression cannot go unchecked. As a @committeeonccp member, I look forward to working with President Trump to get tough on China.”
