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A group of Senate lawmakers are demanding officials from the Treasury Department provide immediate answers regarding a recent cybersecurity breach attributed to Chinese state-sponsored hackers.
Some shit you should know before you read: Last week, US lawmakers were notified by the Treasury Department that a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group exploited a stolen security key from BeyondTrust, a third-party software provider, to breach several Treasury workstations and access unclassified documents. The breach, detected on December 8 when BeyondTrust alerted the Treasury, allowed the hackers to bypass security protocols and remotely infiltrate systems. While the number of compromised workstations and details about the accessed documents remain undisclosed, the Treasury has classified the incident as a “major cybersecurity incident.” The affected systems have since been taken offline, and investigations by the FBI and CISA are underway, with officials confirming no evidence of ongoing access.
What’s going on now: Despite the explanation from Treasury officials, lawmakers are intensifying their demands for immediate answers regarding the breach. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Representative French Hill (R-AR), vice chair of the House Financial Services Committee, have called for a briefing no later than January 10 to address the specifics of the incident. In a letter, they wrote, “This breach of federal government information is extremely concerning. As you know, Treasury maintains some of the most highly sensitive information on US persons throughout government, including tax information, business beneficial ownership, and suspicious activity reports.” They also added that “this information must be vigilantly protected from theft or surveillance by our foreign adversaries, including the Chinese Communist Party (‘CCP’).”
Among their demands are details on the information accessed, identification of the responsible Chinese-backed group, and assurances on preventive measures to safeguard against future breaches.
This all comes amid growing concerns that China is using state-sponsored hackers to infiltrate critical US infrastructure, including public utilities, government agencies, telecommunications providers, banks, and other key sectors. US military and intelligence officials have warned that these actions are part of a broader strategy to position China for potential strategic advantages in the event of conflict.
Over the last two years, top US generals and cybersecurity experts have testified to Congress that by embedding itself in critical systems, China could disrupt US society, hinder economic stability, or even delay a military response in scenarios such as a war over Taiwan or other geopolitical hotspots.
