Chinese hackers in major US Treasury security breach

In a major incident, the US Treasury has claimed Chinese hackers accessed its workstations and documents.

In a major incident, the US Treasury claims Chinese hackers accessed several of its workstations and unclassified documents after compromising BeyondTrust, the third-party software service provider.

The cybercriminal is believed to have gained access to Treasury Department workstations and documents via a security key.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

In a letter to politicians on Monday local time, the Treasury Department said “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.

The US Treasury Department building in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

“Over the last four years, Treasury has significantly bolstered its cyber defence, and we will continue to work with both private and public sector partners to protect our financial system from threat actors.”

The hack comes amid reports that Chinese state-sponsored actors also hacked three of the largest US telecommunications companies in a breach known as Salt Typhoon.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington denied responsibility for the hack, telling Reuters that Beijing “firmly opposes the U.S.’s smear attacks against China without any factual basis.”