The US Treasury Department has reported that a Chinese-sponsored group of computer attackers this month accessed its systems to steal unclassified documents. The agency was notified of the incident on December 8, when a third-party software service provider, BeyondTrust, warned that “a malicious actor” obtained a key to access certain workstations, according to a letter from the Treasury to the US Government. to which several media outlets in the country have had access.
The information accessed by this “Chinese state-sponsored” actor included unclassified documents that users kept on their computers, according to the letter. The US Department has not provided details about the number of affected computers or the type of documentation that was obtained, although it assured that the compromised services have been disconnected.
“There is no evidence to indicate that the threat actor has continuous access to Treasury systems or information,” the letter adds. Other US security agencies such as the FBI or CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) were alerted to the incident and are working to reinforce the response and determine its impact.
This intrusion into their equipment has been described by the US Government as a “major security incident” about which they will report in greater detail in the coming days, the letter states.
China denies the accusation
China, for its part, assured this Tuesday that the accusations that it has carried out computer attacks against the United States “lack evidence.” Government spokesperson Mao Ning stated in a press conference that her country “has repeatedly made its position clear regarding these types of statements.”
Mao claims that they are “baseless accusations.” “China has always opposed all forms of computer hacking,” the spokesperson added, ensuring that Beijing “opposes the dissemination of false information against China for political purposes.”
In the months prior to the cyberattack on the Treasury Department, the US had already accused the Asian giant of several significant incidents attributed to attackers backed by Beijing. In October 2024, he noted that a group highly skilled hackers linked to the Chinese government infiltrated several US telecommunications companies, accessing internal systems and compromising sensitive data.
Additionally, in August 2024, it reported that two major internet service providers were attacked by actors associated with China’s Ministry of State Security, affecting companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Lumen Technologies, and T-Mobile.
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