Imagine this: US Treasury computers were hacked recently. It wasn't just any hacker, though. Officials say it was a Chinese state-sponsored group. Here's how it went down.

A third-party software provider called BeyondTrust discovered something fishy on December 2. It seemed hackers had stolen a key used to secure a cloud-based service that Treasury uses for tech support. This key was like a master key, opening doors to sensitive information.

The hackers gained access to certain Treasury workstations and unclassified documents. They did this by remotely accessing user workstations and bypassing security measures. Yikes!

Treasury was quick to respond. They took the affected service offline and called in the big guns: law enforcement and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). They're working together to figure out the extent of the damage and prevent future attacks.

BeyondTrust, the software provider, says they're on the case too. They've suspended the affected product and hired a cybersecurity team to investigate.

The Treasury plans to brief the House Financial Services Committee next week. They want to fill staffers in on the breach and share what they've found so far.

This incident is a big deal. The Treasury considers breaches like this a "major cybersecurity incident. " They'll keep updating their findings in a 30-day report.

Hackers Linked to China Breach US Treasury Computers

Actions