WASHINGTON, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Chinese government hackers breached the U.S. Treasury office that administers economic sanctions, as reported by the Washington Post on Wednesday, unveiling targets of a cyberattack the Treasury had disclosed earlier in the week.
Unnamed U.S. officials cited by the Washington Post revealed that hackers infiltrated the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Office of Financial Research, in addition to targeting U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's office.
In a letter to legislators earlier this week, the department disclosed that hackers had stolen unclassified documents in a "major incident," without specifying which users or departments were impacted.
Regarding the Washington Post's report, Chinese Embassy spokesperson in Washington, Liu Pengyu, dismissed the U.S. assertion as "irrational" and lacking any factual basis, characterizing it as a "smear attack" against Beijing.
The embassy's statement highlighted China's stance of combating all types of cyberattacks without directly addressing the Washington Post's mentions of specific targets.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comments on the newspaper report.
Sources cited by the Washington Post indicated a significant interest for the Chinese government in targeting Chinese entities that the U.S. government might be contemplating for financial sanctions.
The Treasury's letter from earlier in the week mentioned hackers compromised the third-party cybersecurity service provider BeyondTrust.
U.S. sanctions frequently target Chinese firms, individuals, and entities, forming a crucial component of Washington's foreign policy stance towards Beijing.
Considering China its most significant foreign policy challenge, the United States refused to exclude the possibility of imposing sanctions on Chinese banks, particularly as it aims to curtail Russia's oil revenue and restrict access to foreign supplies in support of its efforts to reduce Russia's actions in Ukraine.