Pulaski Times

Incoming House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill and Incoming Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott are seeking explanations after a cybersecurity breach at the U.S. Department of Treasury, allegedly sponsored by China. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Hill and Scott expressed concerns about the department's measures for protecting sensitive federal information and requested a detailed briefing on the incident.

Hill and Scott stated, "We write regarding the major cybersecurity incident that the Department of the Treasury disclosed to the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees yesterday involving a China state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat actor breaking into Treasury’s computer systems and remotely accessing information maintained by Treasury users." They emphasized that "this breach of federal government information is extremely concerning," noting that "Treasury maintains some of the most highly sensitive information on U.S. persons throughout government."

The letter further noted that such information must be protected from theft or surveillance by foreign adversaries, including those affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The statement continued: "As such, the fact that a CCP-sponsored APT actor was able to access Treasury’s information systems is unacceptable and raises serious questions about the protocols for safeguarding sensitive federal government information from future cybersecurity incidents."

Hill and Scott have requested a briefing from the Treasury Department by January 10, 2025. The briefing should include details about when and how the cybersecurity incident occurred, which China-sponsored actor is responsible, what type of information was accessed, any prior awareness of vulnerabilities related to software services like BeyondTrust used by Treasury, and steps being taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.

For more details on their letter, visit HERE.