CISA says there has been 'no indication' of a wider government hack outside of Treasury department

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Monday said there has been "no indication" that a recent breach of the United States' Treasury Department has impacted any other federal agency.

The Treasury department last month notified Congress that a China-backed group hacked workstations in the department on Dec. 8, by using a stolen key to remotely access workstations and unclassified documents. A department spokesperson said the stations that were impacted were taken offline and officials have been working with federal law enforcement to investigate the incident.  

CISA said it has been working the Treasury department in the investigation, along with BeyondTrust, the third party software service provider that was used in the hack to override security and hack into workstations.

"At this time, there is no indication that any other federal agencies have been impacted by this incident," the agency said in a statement. "CISA continues to monitor the situation and coordinate with relevant federal authorities to ensure a comprehensive response.

"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 Treasury department has promised to provide its own update to Congress within 30 days, but Congress has asked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for a briefing by Friday, according to The Hill.

“This breach of federal government information is extremely concerning," the chairmen of the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee wrote in a letter to Yellen. "As you know, Treasury maintains some of the most highly sensitive information on U.S. persons throughout government, including tax information, business beneficial ownership, and suspicious activity reports."

“This information must be vigilantly protected from theft or surveillance by our foreign adversaries, including the Chinese Communist Party, who seek to harm the United States,” they added.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.