The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions following a significant cyberattack linked to China, targeting telecom companies and its own network.
The sanctions are aimed at a Chinese hacker, Yin Kecheng, who’s linked to the Ministry of State Security. This guy was part of a cyberattack that got into a bunch of Treasury workstations.
Also on the list is a cybersecurity firm from China, which U.S. officials say is connected to a hacking group called Salt Typhoon. This group is believed to have accessed private texts and calls of many Americans.
It’s a big deal because some high-profile U.S. officials might have had their communications snooped on. Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo made it clear that they’re serious about holding cybercriminals accountable.
With these sanctions, neither Yin nor his company can do any business in the U.S. This isn’t the first time the Treasury has taken action; they recently sanctioned another Beijing-based firm for similar hacking activities.
Of course, the Chinese government denies all these hacking claims. The latest sanctions don’t reveal much new info about the Treasury hack, which they found out about back in December. A third-party service provider flagged that hackers had stolen a key that let them access employee workstations remotely.
