Treasury Department Systems Hacked by China, Reports Say

The U.S. Treasury Department informed Congress in a letter Monday that a state-sponsored Chinese actor hacked its systems through a third-party software provider, according to reports.

The software provider, BeyondTrust Inc., informed the Treasury Department of the breach on Dec. 8, saying a hacker had gained access “to a key used by the vendor to secure a cloud-based service used to remotely provide technical support for Treasury Departmental Offices (DO) end users,” Bloomberg reported. The letter called the breach a “major cybersecurity incident,” the report said.

After being told of the breach, the Treasury Department immediately told the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and has “since worked with law enforcement partners across the government to assess the incident,” The Wall Street Journal said. 

Treasury’s Roles Include Overseeing Financial Data, Imposing Sanctions

According to The New York Times, the Treasury Department is of interest to top Chinese officials as the agency’s role includes overseeing “sensitive” global financial systems data, including estimates of China’s economy. “The department also implements sanctions against Chinese firms, including, in recent times, those aiding Russia in the war against Ukraine,” the Times said.

The Treasury Department and the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., didn’t immediately return Investopedia requests for comment.