China has strongly denied allegations of involvements in a significant cybersecurity breach affecting the U.S Treasury Department. The breach, which reportedly happened in early December, allowed hackers linked to the Chinese state to access unclassified documents and employee workstations by exploiting vulnerabilities in a third party service provider.
The incident is characterized by the U.S Treasury Department as a "major cybersecurity event", showing that unauthorized access was gained through a stolen security key that permitted remote access to specific systems.
According to a letter submitted to Congress by U.S. officials, the attack was attributed to a state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor from China. Since then, the Treasury Department has taken steps to secure its systems and is working with the FBI and other organizations to determine the impact of the breach.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswomen Mao Ning in response labeled the allegations as "false" and "groundless", pointing that China opposes all forms of hacking and condemns misinformation aimed at discrediting it politically.
Concerns regarding cybersecurity in the US government and telecom sectors are raised by this incidence, which comes after a series of cyberattacks that were ascribed to Chinese actors.
According to the Treasury, there is currently no evidence suggesting ongoing access by the attackers. Both countries have accused one another of engaging in cyber activities as tensions between the United States and China continue to rise, further straining diplomatic ties.
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