- A Chinese language cybersecurity agency has been sanctioned by the US Treasury
- The agency allegedly has ties to hacking group Salt Hurricane
- Salt Hurricane is accused of finishing up a cyberattack on 9 telco giants
A Chinese language cybersecurity agency has been sanctioned by the US Division of the Treasury’s Workplace of International Belongings Management (OFAC) for alleged hyperlinks to the infamous hacking group Salt Hurricane.
Salt Hurricane is maybe finest generally known as the group who infiltrated the networks of 9 main US telecommunications corporations and web suppliers, together with Verizon and AT&T within the largest telecoms hack in US historical past.
“Sichuan Juxinhe Community Expertise Co., LTD. (Sichuan Juxinhe) had direct involvement within the exploitation of those U.S. telecommunication and web service supplier corporations. The MSS (China Ministry of State Safety) has maintained sturdy ties with a number of pc community exploitation corporations, together with Sichuan Juxinhe,” the Treasury stated in an announcement.
A serious incursion
The Salt Hurricane hack noticed state-sponsored actors focusing on high-level authorities communications by means of a breach of third-party tech help platform BeyondTrust. Hackers had been reportedly lurking inside telecom networks for months earlier than being eradicated.
“The Treasury Division will proceed to make use of its authorities to carry accountable malicious cyber actors who goal the American folks, our corporations, and america authorities, together with those that have focused the Treasury Division particularly,” stated Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Adewale O. Adeyemo.
Following the hack, the US Treasury was once more hit by an extra cyberattack which focused the Committee on International Funding within the US (CFIUS), which is the division answerable for reviewing overseas investments for nationwide safety dangers.
In January 2025, the Treasury equally sanctioned a Chinese language cybersecurity agency Yongxin Zhicheng Expertise Group for alleged ties to Flax Hurricane, the group chargeable for hijacking legally required broadband and communications backdoors which permit US regulation enforcement to intercept communications.
