US sanctions Chinese firm over alleged cyberattacks on treasury
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Chinese cybersecurity company Integrity Tech on Friday. According to U.S. authorities, hackers associated with the company have carried out attacks on critical U.S. infrastructure.
According to a State Department communiqué, Integrity Tech is a subcontractor for the Chinese government and has ties with China’s Ministry of Public Security. Hackers associated with this company were allegedly acting on orders from Beijing.
The sanctions imposed on the company and associated individuals will prevent them from accessing the U.S. banking system and block the possibility of conducting legal business with U.S. citizens.
U.S. authorities decided on the sanctions a few days after information surfaced about a Chinese attack on the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Hackers managed to access some confidential documents stored in the department's IT system. Details regarding the contents of these documents and the duration of the hackers' access were not disclosed.
There are speculations in the media that the aim of the attack was not to steal funds from the U.S. budget but rather to seek information. The AP agency notes that the sanctions imposed are not directly related to this incident.
U.S. authorities continue to work on resolving the issue related to the Chinese attack, known as "Salt Typhoon," which allowed Beijing access to private messages and phone calls of clients of American telecommunications companies. This breach has been deemed the largest attack on telecommunications companies in U.S. history.
