The US Department of Finance informed that it received a cyberattack in early December, assuring that there was no risk of leaking classified information, as stated in a letter sent to Congress and its content was obtained by the French News Agency (AFP).
According to the letter, the cyber attack was carried out through BeyondTrust software, affected Treasury Department computers and was attributed to an actor financially supported by China.
“Once the service provider notified the Treasury, we contacted the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and worked with law enforcement to determine the consequences” of the cyberattack, the Treasury statement said.
It is emphasized that the malware has been removed and that “there is no evidence to suggest that the attacker was able to continue to access information systems of the Ministry of Finance”.
The hackers allegedly stole passwords that gave them access to the software in question, which allowed them to bypass security systems and gain remote access to some computers.
The U.S. Treasury Department acknowledges that this is a “major” cybersecurity breach that it should have notified Congress about. He assures that he will update further when he has gathered more information.
Attributing responsibility for a cyber attack is extremely difficult due to the sophisticated techniques hackers use to cover their tracks and is a politically sensitive issue. However, this is not the first time that the US – or its ally – has accused China of being behind this kind of energy.
Last March, the US, Britain and New Zealand accused China of a series of cyber attacks in recent years, a charge Beijing rejected as “totally baseless” and “slanderous”.
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