The US Treasury says it was hacked in a cyberattack linked to China

Documents and workstations at the US Treasury Department were accessed during a cyberattack. New York Times Reports. The attack was linked to a “Chinese state-sponsored advanced persistent threat actor” and was described as a “major cybersecurity incident.”

According to the message The Treasury Department engaged with legislators (Via TechCrunch), US officials were notified of the issue on December 8, when BeyondTrust, a third-party software company, shared that a security key used to provide technical support was used to access unclassified workstations and documents.

The Treasury Department said it worked with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI to understand the full scope of the breach, but did not share how long files and workstations were accessed or what was actually accessed. Engadget has contacted the US Treasury Department and will update this article as soon as we learn more.

The cyber attack comes on the heels of a similar, but separate, attack Hacking American telecommunications companies It was revealed in October 2024. This cyber attack was carried out by a Chinese hacking group referred to as “Salt Typhoon”. The attackers gained access to unencrypted SMS messages and call logs of politicians, government officials, and others Months Before the breach was discovered.