Bloomberg has learned about the hacking of the computer of the head of the U.S. Treasury Department by hackers from China
Hackers, who may be related to the Chinese government, hacked into the computer of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.This was stated by Bloomberg agency on January 17, citing sources.
"Less than 50 files on Yellen's computer were accessed," the publication said.
The agency specified that the computers of two of Yellen's aides, Deputy Secretary of State Wally Adeyemo and Acting Deputy Secretary of State Brad Smith, were also affected by the cyberattack.
Earlier, on January 14, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that the FBI had cleaned more than 4,000 computers from software allegedly created on behalf of China. During the operation, the PlugX malware was removed from thousands of infected computers around the world, and 4,258 cases were identified directly in the United States. The ministry noted that the development of PlugX from a group of hackers was ordered by the Chinese government.
On January 13, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that China had introduced malware into the U.S. infrastructure systems. According to him, affected were energy networks and telecommunications, as well as gas pipeline systems and energy.
Before that, on December 31, it became known that hackers associated with China allegedly attacked the electronic systems of the U.S. Treasury Department. In the publication of The New York Times indicated that the Ministry of Finance was notified of the attack by BeyondTrust. The hacker could gain access to remote workstations of the Ministry of Finance and documents stored there. According to the ministry, it cooperated with the FBI in the investigation of the attack
Later, Chinese authorities in a Foreign Ministry statement denied involvement in the cyberattack on the US Treasury Department, and also spoke out against the spread of false information against the PRC.