US Treasury’s sanctions office hacked by Chinese government: Washington Post

WASHINGTON – Chinese government hackers breached the US Treasury office that administers economic sanctions, The Washington Post reported on Jan 1, identifying targets of a cyber attack that the Treasury disclosed earlier this week.

Citing unnamed US officials, the Post said 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 Treasury Department earlier this week disclosed in a letter to lawmakers that hackers stole unclassified documents in a “major incident”. It did not specify which users or departments were affected.

Asked about the paper’s report, Mr Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said in a statement that the “irrational” US claim was “without any factual basis” and represented “smear attacks” against Beijing.

The statement said that China “combats all forms of cyber attacks” and did not directly address the Post’s reporting on specific targets.

The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the newspaper report.

The Post quoted its sources as saying that a top area of interest for the Chinese government would be Chinese entities that the US government may be considering designating for financial sanctions.

The Treasury letter earlier this week said hackers compromised third-party cyber-security service provider BeyondTrust.

Chinese firms, individuals and entities have been a frequent target for US sanctions, which Washington has used as a key tool in its foreign policy towards Beijing.

Dr Yellen told Reuters in December that Washington would not rule out sanctions on Chinese banks as it seeks to reduce Russia’s oil revenue and access to foreign supplies to fuel its war in Ukraine. REUTERS