Editor-DN
Washington DC:
Chinese government hackers breached the U.S. Treasury office that administers economic sanctions, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing Treasury targets for a cyber attack disclosed earlier this week.
The hackers compromised the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Office of Financial Research and also targeted the office of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the Washington Post said, citing unnamed US officials.
The department disclosed in a letter to lawmakers earlier this week that hackers stole unclassified documents in a “major incident.” It did not say which users or departments were affected.
Asked about the newspaper’s report, Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said the “unreasonable” US claim was “without any “based on reality” and represents “summer strikes” against Beijing.
The statement said China “counteracts all types of cyber attacks” and did not directly address the Washington Post’s reporting on specific targets.
The Finance Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the newspaper’s report.
The Washington Post, citing its sources, has said that the main area of interest for the Chinese government will be Chinese entities that the US government is considering designating for financial sanctions.
A Treasury letter earlier this week said hackers compromised third-party cyber security service provider Beyond Trust.
Chinese firms, individuals and institutions have been frequent targets of US sanctions, which Washington has used as a key tool in its foreign policy toward Beijing.
The U.S. views China’s foreign policy as its biggest challenge, and last month Yellen told Reuters that Washington would not rule out sanctions on Chinese banks because they use Russia’s oil revenue to fuel its war in Ukraine. Wants to reduce access to foreign supplies.
(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
