CISA: ‘Recent government hack limited to Treasury Department’

The United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) says that the recent hack on the Department of the Treasury hasn’t impacted other government organizations.

“At this time, there is no indication that any other federal agencies have been impacted by this incident. CISA continues to monitor the situation and coordinate with relevant federal authorities to ensure a comprehensive response,” the US cyber defense agency says in an update.

Last week, the Treasury Department announced that state-sponsored hackers from China were able to gain access to a cloud-based service by using a security key they obtained from BeyondTrust, a third-party service provider that delivers technical support for end users at the Treasury Department.

A BeyondTrust spokesperson confirmed that “a limited number of customers” whose systems were accessed were notified of the incident. How the attackers got hold of the security key remains unclear.

After careful and thorough investigation, CISA concluded that, besides the Department of the Treasury, no other federal agencies have been impacted by the incident.

According to a report in The Washington Post, both the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Financial Research have been targeted by the hackers.

The attackers were able to gain access to and review unclassified documents. There’s no indication that any sensitive information was stolen.

Nevertheless, officials are considering and handling the matter as a ‘major cybersecurity incident.’ And so does CISA.

“The security of federal systems and the data they protect is of critical importance to our national security. We are working aggressively to safeguard against any further impacts and will provide updates, as appropriate,” the cybersecurity agency says in a statement.

The full scope and impact of the attack is still being assessed.