The US Treasury Department has confirmed a major cyber incident involving Chinese state-sponsored hackers who gained unauthorized access to employee workstations and unclassified documents. The breach occurred after a third-party software provider, BeyondTrust, was compromised, allowing the attackers to obtain a security key used for remote technical support. This key enabled the hackers to bypass security measures and remotely access Treasury systems and exfiltrate sensitive information. The Treasury was notified of the breach on December 8th and has been working with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the FBI, and other agencies to investigate the full impact of the incident.
The compromised BeyondTrust service has since been taken offline, and there is currently no evidence to suggest the threat actors still have access to Treasury systems. The Treasury Department has classified the incident as a “major incident” and has reaffirmed its commitment to bolstering cybersecurity defenses, highlighting the importance of addressing third-party vulnerabilities. The breach follows a series of other recent cyberattacks linked to China, further raising concerns about the security posture of the US government.