China was behind a “major” hack of the Treasury Department, the Biden administration said Monday, gaining access to unclassified documents and the workstations of government employees.
After a year fraught with hacking across all government agencies, China experts say it’s time to get serious about thwarting adversarial espionage.
“The latest intrusion should not come as a surprise. For too long, the CCP has paid no real price for its increasingly aggressive intrusions into our homeland and networks,” Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House China Select Committee, told Fox News Digital.
“It is time for Congress and the incoming Trump administration to impose escalating costs to deter the CCP.”
It’s not yet clear what exactly the hackers were seeking. The Treasury houses sensitive data about global financial systems, as well as estimates about China’s ailing economy. It also carries out sanctions on Chinese companies, as well as those aiding Russia in the war on Ukraine.
“Even though the Treasury says the Chinese only got unclassified documents, we’ve got to remember that a hack of the Treasury sends shudders not just across the U.S., but across the world. Countries rely on the dollar, can you rely on the stability of the American financial markets?” said China expert Gordon Chang.