Chinese hack of US Treasury breached sanctions office: Report

Thu Jan 02 03:37:36 UTC 2025: ## Chinese Hackers Breached US Treasury Department: Report

**Washington, D.C. – January 2, 2025** – The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Chinese government hackers successfully breached the U.S. Treasury Department, compromising sensitive data within the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Office of Financial Research, and even targeting Secretary Janet Yellen’s office. This confirms and expands upon a previous Treasury Department announcement of a major cyberattack that resulted in the theft of unclassified documents.

While the Treasury Department has yet to officially comment on the specifics of the Washington Post’s report, the newspaper, citing unnamed U.S. officials, alleges the hackers were particularly interested in information regarding Chinese entities potentially facing future sanctions. This aligns with the U.S. government’s increasing use of financial sanctions against China as a key foreign policy tool.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington denied the allegations, calling them “irrational” and “smear attacks” against Beijing, while simultaneously stating that China combats all forms of cyberattacks. The report also revealed that the hackers leveraged a vulnerability in the third-party cybersecurity service provider, BeyondTrust.

The incident underscores the escalating cyber tensions between the U.S. and China, particularly given Secretary Yellen’s recent statement that the U.S. wouldn’t rule out sanctions on Chinese banks to curb Russia’s access to oil supplies. The ongoing investigation promises to further strain relations between the two global powers.