US Treasury hacked: are China and the United States escalating their cyberwar? | Cybercrime news

The United States Treasury Department on Monday accused China of breaching its network and gaining access to information including unclassified documents.

Beijing has denied the allegation, calling it unfounded.

The alleged hack comes weeks after Beijing accused Washington of carrying out two cyberattacks against Chinese technology companies.

As Washington and Beijing trade blame, we assess the history of cyberwarfare between the world's two largest economies and whether it has escalated.

Who hacked the US Treasury Department?

The U.S. Treasury Department has accused Chinese state-sponsored hackers of breaking into its system this month and gaining access to employee workstations and unclassified documents.

The department said the hackers gained access by ignoring a security key used by third-party cybersecurity vendor BeyondTrust, which provides remote technical assistance to Treasury employees.

The Treasury Department made these details public on Monday in a letter to the US Congress. The attack was instigated by a Chinese actor from Advanced Persistent Threat (APT), the letter said.

However, the ministry did not specify the number of compromised workstations, the nature of the files, the exact duration of the hack and the level of confidentiality of the compromised workstations.

On December 8, the Treasury was alerted to a hack by BeyondTrust. The BBC reported that BeyondTrust first suspected unusual activity on December 2, but it took three days to determine it had been hacked.

What was the reaction of the US Treasury?

The department said there was no evidence that the hackers still had access to department information and that the compromised BeyondTrust had been taken offline.

It is assessing the impact of hacking with the help of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The hack is being investigated as a major cybersecurity incident.

The department's letter to Congress added that additional information about the attack would be sent to U.S. lawmakers in 30 days.

Over the past four years, Treasury has significantly strengthened its cyber defense and we will continue to work with private and public sector partners to protect our financial system from malicious actors, a department spokesperson said in a separate statement.

How did China react?

China denied the ministry's accusations and its Foreign Ministry said Beijing condemned all forms of hacker attacks.

We have repeatedly expressed our position regarding such unfounded and lack of evidence accusations, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the United States, Liu Pengyu, denied the ministry's allegations. We hope that relevant parties will adopt a professional and responsible attitude when characterizing cyber incidents, basing their conclusions on sufficient evidence rather than speculation and unfounded accusations, he said, according to a BBC report .

The United States must stop using cybersecurity to slander China and stop spreading all kinds of disinformation about so-called Chinese hacking threats.

Are the United States and China increasing cyberattacks against each other?

While the United States blames China for cyberattacks over the years, Beijing has also accused Washington of hacking its critical cyber infrastructure in recent years.

Here is a brief timeline of recent cyberattacks claimed by both countries:

On December 18, the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/China Coordination Center (NCERT/CC) issued a statement claiming that two U.S. cyberattacks since May 2023 attempted to steal trade secrets from Chinese technology companies.

On December 5, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger said that a Chinese hacking group called Salt Typhoon had obtained communications from senior U.S. government officials, but that classified information had not been compromised .

A month earlier, on November 13, the FBI and CISA said they had uncovered a massive cyberespionage campaign carried out by hackers linked to China.

The United States alleged that the hackers compromised the private communications of a limited number of people. Although they did not specify who these individuals were, they were primarily involved in government or political activities, the FBI and CISA said.

Weeks before the US elections in November, the FBI launched an investigation after reports that Chinese hackers targeted the cellphones of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, as well as people associated with Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate in the running. .

In July 2023, American technology giant Microsoft said that the China-based hacking group Storm-0558 had hacked the email accounts of around 25 organizations and government agencies. The hacked accounts included those belonging to U.S. State Department personnel.

In March, the United States and the United Kingdom accused China of carrying out a massive cyberespionage campaign that allegedly affected millions of people, including lawmakers, journalists and defense contractors. Both countries imposed sanctions on a Chinese company after the incident. A month earlier, American authorities announced that they had dismantled a Chinese-sponsored hacker network called Volt Typhoon.

In response, China called the accusations completely fabricated and malicious slander.

In March 2022, China reported suffering a series of cyberattacks traced back primarily to U.S. addresses. Some have also been traced to the Netherlands and Germany, according to the CNCERT/CC.

Why are cyberattacks launched?

State-sponsored actors are routinely accused of launching cyberattacks against adversaries ranging from state institutions to politicians and activists. They aim to gain unauthorized access to confidential data and trade secrets or to disrupt economies and critical infrastructure.

The United States and China have long used cyber defense to pursue their national security goals, Rebecca Liao, co-founder and CEO of web3 protocol Saga, told Al Jazeera.

Although spying on state actors is an accepted practice, the United States has protested China's widespread cyberattacks on U.S. commercial entities, said Liao, who served as a member of President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaigns. and Hillary Clinton in 2016, advising on China, technology and the Asian economy. policy.

It is obviously not wise, diplomatically, to accumulate a history of recourse to espionage. This is why Beijing has been so quick to deny all allegations.

With the development of digital technology, cyberattacks are increasing worldwide, according to the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). SWP data shows that cyberattacks increased from 107 in 2014 to 723 in 2023.

Cyberattacks are also carried out by individuals or organized groups who want to steal data and money.

How can countries protect themselves from cyberattacks?

The United States and China should spearhead a treaty on the responsible use of cyberspace, wrote researchers Asimiyu Olayinka Adenuga and Temitope Emmanuel Abiodun of the political science department at Nigeria's Tai Solarin University in a article published this year.

They cited the example of the treaties signed between the United States and the Soviet Union following the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, SALT I and SALT II, ​​in 1972 and 1979. The two superpowers in the war Cold War signed treaties to establish stability between the United States and the Soviet Union by limiting their production of nuclear weapons.

In their paper, the Tai Solarin researchers added that there is a need for further technological development, particularly in the area of ​​quantum computing, to make it more difficult to carry out cyberattacks.

Victor Atkins, a fellow at the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at the US think tank Atlantic Council, wrote in a February article that the United States should launch a new multilateral intelligence-sharing coalition on cyber threats in the Indo-Pacific region. Pacific to fight against cyberattacks from China.

A decade ago, there were suggestions about convening an international body around cybersecurity to develop standards or codes of conduct that participating countries would follow, said Liao, the technology expert.

However, none of these efforts have borne fruit and it is up to each country to protect themselves against cyberattacks.

Governments are currently working to develop cybersecurity infrastructure such as firewalls to protect against cyberattacks such as hacking.

An article published by the University of Miami adds that countries are employing other practices to counter cyber threats. This includes testing these cyber threats in a simulated environment. Cyber ​​teams constantly undergo training exercises, similar to those of the military, the article said.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos