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An actor connected to the Chinese government recently hacked of the U.S. Treasury Department in a “major incident,” officials announced Monday.
In a letter obtained by FOX Business, Ministry of Finance he disclosed the incident to the leadership of the Senate Banking Committee. Officials learned of the breach on December 8.
The cybercriminal allegedly gained access to the workstations and documents of the Ministry of Finance through a security key.
“After the service provider alerted the Treasury, we immediately contacted the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and worked with law enforcement partners across government to determine the impact of this incident,” the spokesperson said.
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The U.S. Treasury Building, photographed Friday, July 16, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“The compromised BeyondTrust service has been shut down and there is no evidence to indicate that the threat actor has continued access to Treasury Department systems or information.”
The news comes as state-linked Chinese hackers continue their espionage campaign against the US government. last week, the White House announced that Chinese officials accessed the private messages and phone conversations of Americans by targeting a US telecommunications company – the ninth telecommunications company affected by Chinese hacking.
Speaking to reporters, Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger said the government planned further actions in the coming weeks in response to the hacking campaign, but did not reveal specific details.
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The Treasury Building is seen in Washington, DC on August 29, 2022. ((Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Neuberger said the number of Americans affected by the recent telecom attack is unknown because Chinese hackers are careful to cover their tracks. Many of the victims were located in Washington, DC and Virginia.
“We believe the goal was to identify who these phones belonged to and whether they were government targets of interest for espionage monitoring and intelligence gathering on the communications, messages and phone calls on those particular phones,” she explained.
Salt Typhoon, as US officials call the Chinese government’s spy unit, has been active for the past four years. It is not known whether the latest MoF incident involved Salt Typhoon or another actor linked to the CCP.
Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds during a joint news conference of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, north China’s Shaanxi province on May 19, 2023. (Photo by FLORENCE LO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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FOX Business reached out to the Treasury Department for more information, but did not immediately receive a response.
FOX Business’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.
