Hackers connected to China's government successfully breached several Treasury Department workstations and accessed unclassified documents, according to a letter to Congress on Monday. Why it matters: The U.

Threat actors entered Treasury Department systems through BeyondTrust. The breach may be related to the Salt Typhoon attacks.

A key used by third party service provider BeyondTrust to secure cloud-based remote support was stolen and used to access unclassified data, Treasury told lawmakers.

After unclassified documents from the US Treasury Department were accessed in a hack blamed on China, many in the cybersecurity community are wondering how such breaches might intensify in the weeks and months ahead.

Chinese state-backed hackers have compromised US Treasury computers and accessed unclassified information, after targeting a third-party cybersecurity vendor, it has emerged. The Treasury confirmed the news in a letter to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, dated December 30 and shared widely on X (formerly Twitter).

Treasury says hackers accessed “certain unclassified documents” in a “major” breach, but experts believe the attack’s impacts could prove to be more significant as new details emerge.

The Washington Post reported Jan. 1 that the hack targeted the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers and enforces economic sanctions, as well as the Office of the Treasury Secretary and Office of Financial Research, citing U.S. officials.

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 other nations and their citizens.

The US Treasury Department told lawmakers in a letter back in December that its documents and workstations were accessed by an external party in a security breach. It described the attack as "a major cybersecurity incident" and attributed it to a "China state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat actor.