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China was behind a “major” hack of the Treasury Department, the Biden administration said Monday, which gained access to unclassified documents and the workstations of government employees.
After a year filled with hacking across government agencies, China experts say it’s time to get serious about thwarting adversary espionage.
“The latest intrusion should come as no surprise. For too long, the CCP has paid no real price for its increasingly aggressive intrusions into our homeland and networks,” Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Michigan, chairman of House China Select. Committee, he told Fox News Digital.
“It’s time for Congress and starters Trump administration impose increasing costs to deter the CCP.”
It’s still unclear what exactly the hackers were looking for. The Treasury houses sensitive data on global financial systems, as well as estimates on China’s deteriorating economy. It also penalizes Chinese companies, as well as those that help them Russia at war against Ukraine.
“Although the Treasury says that the Chinese only obtained unclassified documents, we must remember that a hack of the Treasury shakes not only the US, but the whole world. Countries depend on the dollar, you can count on the stability ? of the American financial markets?” said Chinese expert Gordon Chang.
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“For too long, the CCP has paid no real price for its increasingly aggressive intrusions into our land and networks,” Rep. John Moolenaar told Fox News Digital. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Treasury was notified by a service provider of the breach on December 8 and all affected systems were taken offline. China called the allegation behind the act “baseless” and said it “constantly opposes all forms of piracy.”
Despite China’s denials, the Treasury insisted that a state-sponsored Chinese actor was behind the attack. Chang suggested that Xi may have intended to be caught to send a message to the world.
“Actually, we can’t rule out the possibility that the Chinese wanted to be caught because they really wanted to create uncertainty around the world. They wanted to show the world that the United States is not safe: its networks are not good, the Chinese control. them in will”.
Just a few weeks ago, President-elect Donald Trump appeared to be making an attempt to smooth relations with China with a invitation to President Xi Jinping for its inauguration. But the recent hacking attempt suggests those efforts might be futile, according to Chang.
“American presidents have been trying to make pre-emptive concessions to China for decades. It has not paid off for us. And the reason is because the Chinese don’t reciprocate,” he said.
Earlier this year, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s communications were intercepted by Chinese intelligence, just as she was making determinations on new export controls for semiconductors and other key technologies. The same hacking group also targeted officials Department of State and members of Congress.
The Treasury was notified by a service provider of the breach on December 8 and all affected systems were taken offline. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
China, led by President Xi Jinping, has denied involvement in the hack (Florence Lo – Piscina/Getty Images)
And the Treasury hack comes just as the Biden administration faces one of China’s largest attacks on American infrastructure in history, dubbed Typhoon Salt.
A Chinese intelligence group infiltrated nine US telecommunications giants and gained access to the private text messages and phone calls of Americans, including senior government officials and prominent political figures.
The Salt Typhoon hackers also gained access to a comprehensive list of phone numbers the Justice Department had tapped to monitor people suspected of espionage, giving them insight into which Chinese spies the US had caught and which they had missed .
The onslaught of cyberattacks has sparked frustration and raised questions about cybersecurity and why America’s adversaries are able to regularly penetrate US government systems.
“The American people should be outraged at the Chinese for hacking us, but they should be outraged at our political leaders because our political leaders know what’s going on. They have the means to protect us and have decided not to.” Chang said.
last week, Mike Waltz, incoming national security adviserR-Fla., suggested that the U.S. should not only play defense, but also attack in attacks.
Representative Mike Waltz, Republican of Florida, speaks during a press conference after a House briefing on Afghanistan at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, 24 August 2021. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We have to stop trying to play better and better defense,” Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo said. “We have to start attacking.”
“We need to start imposing consequences for those who steal our technology, spy on us, and now with a program called Volt Typhoon, it’s planting cyber time bombs on our critical infrastructure, like our water, our power grid, and our ports,” Waltz said. he said
“America can no longer afford to play cyber defense. We must go on the offensive and impose COSTS on those who are stealing our technology and attacking our infrastructure,” he added to X.
Trump has proposed a 60% tariff on US imports from China. Last month, the Biden administration issued its toughest crackdown yet on China’s semiconductor industry with the intention of hampering its ability to develop AI for modern military uses.
