By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Investigations into a significant security breach were ongoing Tuesday after China-backed experts allegedly managed to hack the U.S. Treasury Department’s computers, “stealing” documents in what officials called a “major incident.”
In a letter to legislators, the Treasury Department acknowledged that Chinese state-sponsored hackers “compromised” third-party cybersecurity service provider BeyondTrust and were able to access “unclassified documents.”
Hackers “gained access to a key used by the vendor to secure a cloud-based service used to remotely provide technical support for Treasury Departmental Offices (DO) end users,” the letter said.
With access to “the stolen key,” the “threat actor was able to override the service’s security, remotely access certain Treasury DO user workstations, and access certain unclassified documents maintained by those users.”
Officials said the hack is being treated as a “major cybersecurity incident” in an ongoing investigation.
According to sources familiar with the case, the U.S. Government initially became aware of the alleged cyber attack on December 8, after hackers were said to have compromised a third-party software provider.
The alleged Chinese involvement in accessing computers in the heart of the U.S. government comes amid broader concerns about China’s alleged increased spying activities in the United States.
In September earlier this year, the U.S. Justice Department said it combatted a cyberattack network that plagued 200,000 devices internationally, claiming that hackers supported by Beijing allegedly ran it.
Additionally, in February, U.S. officials reportedly announced they had dismantled “Volt Typhoon,” a network of hackers believed to have been active since 2021 and are known to target American infrastructure, including water treatment plants and transport systems.
China did not immediately comment on the latest findings, but they were expected to increase pressure on U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump to deal with Beijing following his inauguration on January 20.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A leading Dutch Jewish voice and longtime politician has filed a police complaint against the British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan, after the band’s frontman appeared to urge violence against Jews and to celebrate the recent assassination of born-again Christian influencer Charlie Kirk during a controversial concert in Amsterdam.
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the Republican Party will host the first-ever Midterm National Convention in 2026, an unprecedented move in U.S. political history.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Monday formally opened the restored Pilgrimage Road in Jerusalem’s City of David, the ancient thoroughfare once used by Jewish worshipers ascending to the Temple Mount during the Second Temple era.
A pastor in Southern California was shot and killed inside his home, authorities and church members said, shocking a close-knit evangelical community in the rural town of Ramona east of the city of San Diego near the U.S.–Mexico border.
Ukraine says Russia’s military has bombarded the southern city of Zaporizhzhia with rockets overnight, killing one person and wounding 13 people, including two children, while another person died and several were injured elsewhere in the country.
The United States and the United Kingdom are set to unveil a wave of major nuclear energy agreements during President Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain this week, in what both governments are calling the start of a “golden age” of nuclear power.
Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered a 2,050-year-old Roman council hall etched with early Christian carvings, offering fresh historical insight into the biblical church of Laodicea–one of the seven congregations addressed in the Book of Revelation.