GOP lawmakers request Yellen briefing on Chinese hackers' Treasury breach
Republican lawmakers are swiftly urging the Treasury Department to provide answers on a recent cybersecurity attack from China that infiltrated various workstations, as outlined in a letter obtained by The Hill.
“This breach of federal government information is extremely concerning. As you know, Treasury maintains some of the most highly sensitive information on U.S. persons throughout government, including tax information, business beneficial ownership, and suspicious activity reports,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), a ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, and House Financial Services Committee Vice Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
“This information must be vigilantly protected from theft or surveillance by our foreign adversaries, including the Chinese Communist Party ('CCP'), who seek to harm the United States," they wrote.
Chinese state-sponsored actors hacked into the Treasury Department in early December and accessed unclassified documents from its workstations, the agency told lawmakers last week. The hackers stole a key from a software service provider, BeyondTrust, and gained access to the department's workstations.
Scott and Hill are requesting a briefing on the breach in eight days with full detail on the information accessed by the hackers, specifics on those responsible for the incident and how it will be prevented in the future, among other requests.
In an initial letter issued by the Treasury Department after the attack, the agency noted it is no longer using BeyondTrust and claimed there is no evidence the hackers still have access to the workstations.
The Treasury Department originally said it would provide Congress members with an update in 30 days as outlined by the law. However, Scott and Hill said they need answers sooner.
“Treasury takes very seriously all threats against our systems, and the data it holds,” the agency released in a statement immediately following the incident.
“Over the last four years, Treasury has significantly bolstered its cyber defense, and we will continue to work with both private and public sector partners to protect our financial system from threat actors,” the department's statement reads.
Topics
-
U.S. Hits Chinese Cybersecurity Company With Sanctions After Breach
The agency imposed penalties on a company it blamed for supporting the Chinese hacking group Flax Typhoon in a 2022-23 infiltration.The New York Times - 1d -
Thursday Briefing
A deadly attack in New Orleans.The New York Times - 2d -
GOP lawmaker warns of Johnson accountability for 'failures'
Rep. Scott Perry (R-Va.) raised concern with House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) second stint as the Republican leader in the lower chamber despite his support of the incumbent on Friday. Perry ...The Hill - 21h -
Texas GOP lawmaker looking for 'third option' to avoid 'status quo' in House as Speakership election nears
Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) said Thursday that he is looking for a “third option” to avoid “the status quo” in the House as the Speakership election nears. “There are concerns that a delay in ...The Hill - 2d -
Former GOP lawmaker: DOGE should focus on fixing Congress
Former Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) penned a Thursday op-ed in The Wall Street Journal urging Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to initially focus their push to cut government spending on Congress if ...The Hill - 2d -
China’s Hack of U.S. Treasury Breached Sanctions Office
The cyberattack reported earlier this week reached into the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Office of Financial Research, sections of the agency that oversee economic penalties against ...Inc. - 2d -
Chinese government hackers targeted US Treasury office that administers sanctions – report
Treasury disclosed hack earlier this week, with Washington Post reporting targets were Office of Foreign Assets Control and Office of Financial Research. Chinese government hackers breached the US ...The Guardian - 2d -
Wednesday Briefing
Here’s what you need to know.The New York Times - 3d
More from The Hill
-
Kinzinger on 'changed' GOP: 'I'm probably closer to a Democrat now'
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) reflected on the “changed” Republican Party, saying he finds himself being “probably closer to a Democrat now” politically, arguing the Democratic Party is ...The Hill - 38m -
Trump flexes power over House GOP in whirlwind Speaker race
President-elect Trump reasserted his power over the House GOP conference during Friday’s whirlwind Speaker vote, proving that, despite some recent doubts, he still has significant sway over ...The Hill - 1h -
German chancellor on Musk: ‘Don’t feed the troll’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shared his approach to dealing with tech mogul Elon Musk who lately has traded barbs with German politicians, saying it is wise to not “feed the troll.” “There are a ...The Hill - 2h -
Democrats look for places to work with Trump 2.0
Democrats say one thing is certain: 2025 won't be 2017, when it comes to the start of the Trump administration. Two months after their grueling and disappointing White House loss to ...The Hill - 2h -
Ex-FDA chief says Biden 'mishandling' bird flu, urges swift action from Trump
Former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Scott Gottlieb and Luciana Borio, a former director for medical and biodefense preparedness policy at the National Security Council, ...The Hill - 3h
More in Politics
-
Kinzinger on 'changed' GOP: 'I'm probably closer to a Democrat now'
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) reflected on the “changed” Republican Party, saying he finds himself being “probably closer to a Democrat now” politically, arguing the Democratic Party is ...The Hill - 38m -
Biden honors 19 politicians, philanthropists, cultural icons with Presidential Medal of Freedom
President Biden awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor to more than a dozen politicians, philanthropists and cultural icons during a ceremony at the White House Saturday. Nineteen people ...NBC News - 51m -
Trump flexes power over House GOP in whirlwind Speaker race
President-elect Trump reasserted his power over the House GOP conference during Friday’s whirlwind Speaker vote, proving that, despite some recent doubts, he still has significant sway over ...The Hill - 1h -
German chancellor on Musk: ‘Don’t feed the troll’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shared his approach to dealing with tech mogul Elon Musk who lately has traded barbs with German politicians, saying it is wise to not “feed the troll.” “There are a ...The Hill - 2h -
Democrats look for places to work with Trump 2.0
Democrats say one thing is certain: 2025 won't be 2017, when it comes to the start of the Trump administration. Two months after their grueling and disappointing White House loss to ...The Hill - 2h