Biden Admin Reports China Hacked Treasury Department In ‘Major’ Breach

AFP PHOTO/Karen BLEIER/FILES 

A Chinese intelligence agency successfully infiltrated the Treasury Department, gaining access to government workstations and unclassified documents, the Biden administration reported Monday.

Authorities say the breach was first detected on December 8, after the software firm BeyondTrust alerted Treasury officials that hackers had seized a security key allowing remote access.

Senior figures privy to intelligence about the infiltration suggest it was strictly designed for information-gathering rather than for sabotaging critical infrastructure like power grids or water treatment systems.

“Based on available indicators, the incident has been attributed to a China state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor,” read a Treasury letter sent to Capitol Hill. “In accordance with Treasury policy, intrusions attributable to an APT are considered a major cybersecurity incident.”

The Treasury Department emphasized that it is collaborating with the F.B.I., the intelligence community, and private-sector experts to fully assess the exposure and secure any affected services.

According to the New York Times, Chinese officials rejected the claim outright.

On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning called it “groundless.” She added that China was opposed to using cyberattacks and “even more opposed to the spread of false information against China for political purposes.”