US: Finance Ministry became a hacker target and attributed to China

Their finance ministry has informed them that it has been attacked since early December, confirming that there was no risk of leaking confidential data, as a letter sent to Congress says. According to the letter revealed by the French News Agency, the hacker attack was made through BeyondTrust software, influenced computers from the US Treasury and attributed to a factor financially supported by China. ADVERSE “Just as soon as the service provider notified the Ministry of Finance, we contacted the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Service (CISA) and worked with law enforcement authorities to determine the consequences” of the cyber-attack, says the briefing by the Ministry of Finance. It is underlined that the malware was removed and that “there is no evidence to suggest that the intruder was able to continue accessing financial ministry information systems.” The hackers allegedly intercepted codes that gave them access to the software in question, thanks to which they bypassed security systems and gained remote access to some computers. CORVERSE The U.S. Treasury acknowledges that this is a breach of “major importance” in the field of cybersecurity, which Congress had to inform. He assures that he will inform further when he has collected more data. Responsibility for cyberattack is extremely difficult because of the complex techniques used by hackers to cover their tracks and is a sensitive issue from a political point of view. However, this is not the first time the US – or their ally – has accused China of being behind this kind of energy. Last March, the US, Britain and New Zealand had accused China of a series of cyberattacks in recent years, an accusation Beijing rejected as “always unfounded” and “sycophant”.