US Treasury confirms cyber breach linked to China-backed hacker
The Treasury informed the Senate Banking Committee about the breach, emphasising the involvement of a China state-sponsored actor in the cyberattack.
The US Treasury on Monday (Dec 30) told Congress that a China state-sponsored actor was behind a cyber breach earlier this month that successfully accessed some of its workstations.
It said the China-backed hacker compromised a third-party cybersecurity provider and was able to remotely access the workstations.
The US Treasury Department, in a letter to the Senate Banking Committee, said: "Based on available indicators, the incident has been attributed to a China state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor."
Classified documents compromised?
A treasury spokesperson revealed that some unclassified documents were accessed during the cyberattack. The compromised third-party security provider, BeyondTrust, alerted the US Treasury about the breach.
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According to an AFP report, BeyondTrust has been working with law enforcement partners to ascertain the impact of the attack. In the meantime, it has been taken offline.
"The compromised BeyondTrust service has been taken offline and there is no evidence indicating the threat actor has continued access to Treasury systems or information," said the spokesperson.
While the Treasury did not provide any further details about the attack, it said additional information would be released in a supplemental report.
It added that the US Treasury Department will would continue working to protect the US financial system from threats and that it "takes very seriously all threats against our systems, and the data it holds".
What is Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)?
According to AFP, an APT is a cyberattack where the intruder or hacker "establishes and maintains unauthorised access to a target," while managing to remain undetected for a sustained period.
The China threat
In recent years, the United States and several other nations have voiced alarm over the rise in Chinese government-backed hacking activity. However, China refutes the allegations and previously in a statement has said that it is against all forms of cyberattacks.
(With inputs from agencies)
