Chinese government hackers infiltrated the US Treasury office responsible for administering economic sanctions, the Washington Post revealed on Wednesday. The report identified this office as the target of a cyberattack, which the Treasury had disclosed earlier in the week.
Citing anonymous US officials, the Washington Post stated that hackers compromised the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Office of Financial Research. They also targeted the office of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The Treasury Department had disclosed earlier this week in a letter to lawmakers that hackers stole unclassified documents in a “major incident,” but did not specify which users or departments were affected.
When asked about the report, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, dismissed the US claim as “irrational” and “without any factual basis,” characterizing it as a “smear attack” against Beijing. The statement asserted that China “combats all forms of cyberattacks,” but did not directly address the Washington Post’s report on the specific targets. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the newspaper report.
The Washington Post quoted its sources saying a key area of interest for the Chinese government would be Chinese entities that the US government might be considering for financial sanctions. The Treasury’s letter earlier this week stated that hackers compromised the third-party cybersecurity service provider BeyondTrust.
Published On Jan 4, 2025 at 10:07 AM IST
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