US Treasury says China-backed hackers breached its systems

The US Treasury said its systems were breached by Chinese state-sponsored hackers earlier this month, a claim Beijing described as “groundless.”

Washington said the attackers gained access to employee workstations and viewed some unclassified documents by hacking a third-party technical support service used by the department. China denied any involvement, saying it “has always opposed all forms of hacker attacks.”

Cyber warfare has been increasing in recent years: In March, the US and Britain accused another Beijing-backed group of hacking millions of people over more than a decade, including journalists and academics, while other hackers apparently targeted US President-elect Donald Trump’s phone and that of his running mate in October.

One cybersecurity analysis site said cyberattacks in Q2 2024 were up 30% on the same period a year earlier.