Chinese hackers breach US Treasury, access unclassified documents
Chinese state-sponsored hackers accessed several US Treasury Department workstations and unclassified documents after exploiting a third-party software provider, the agency revealed Monday. The breach, classified as a "major cybersecurity incident," is under investigation, though officials say there is no evidence the hackers maintain ongoing access.
Chinese hackers remotely accessed several U.S. Treasury Department workstations and unclassified documents after compromising a third-party software service provider, the agency said Monday.
The department did not provide details on how many workstations had been accessed or what sort of documents the hackers may have obtained, but it said in a letter to lawmakers revealing the breach that “at this time there is no evidence indicating the threat actor has continued access to Treasury information.” It said the hack was being investigated as a “major cybersecurity incident.”
“Treasury takes very seriously all threats against our systems, and the data it holds,” a department spokesperson said in a separate 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.”
The compromised service has since been taken offline, and there's no evidence that the hackers still have access to department information, Aditi Hardikar, an assistant Treasury secretary, said in the letter Monday to leaders of the Senate Banking Committee.
(AP)
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