Beijing denies its involvement in a cyber hack into the US Treasury

Beijing has denied US accusations that a Chinese state-backed private company was behind a Treasury Department cyber breach, saying they were “baseless.”

China denied the accusations, and the Foreign Ministry said that Beijing “has always opposed all forms of cyber piracy, but we also oppose the spread of false information against China for political purposes.”

“We have repeatedly clarified our position on similar accusations that are baseless and lack evidence,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

Reveal confidential data

The US Treasury Department announced on Monday, in a letter addressed to Congress, that it was subjected to a Chinese-backed cyber attack early last December, but it did not lead to the disclosure of confidential data.

According to the letter, the attack affected workstations and unclassified documents in the ministry by breaching a security program developed by a private company called “Beyond Trust.” The attack was carried out “according to available indications by an entity financially supported by China.”
The Treasury contacted the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency after Beyond Trust alerted it to the breach, and continues to work with law enforcement agencies to determine its impact.