The Biden administration revealed on Monday that China was behind a significant hack of the Treasury Department, gaining access to unclassified documents and government employees' workstations. This breach comes after a year marked by widespread hacking across various government agencies, prompting calls for stronger measures against adversarial espionage.
Experts emphasize the need to address China's aggressive intrusions, with Rep. John Moolenaar stressing the importance of imposing escalating costs to deter such actions.
While the exact motives of the hackers remain unclear, the Treasury holds sensitive data on global financial systems, China's economy, and enforces sanctions on Chinese and Russian entities.
Despite China's denial of involvement, the Treasury maintains that a Chinese state-sponsored actor was responsible for the attack. Some experts speculate that China may have intended to create global uncertainty by getting caught.
Recent cyberattacks, including the 'Salt Typhoon' incident targeting American infrastructure, have raised concerns about cybersecurity and the ability of adversaries to breach US government systems.
Lawmakers and officials are calling for a shift from defensive strategies to offensive measures in combating cyber threats. The proposal includes imposing consequences on entities engaged in technology theft and infrastructure attacks.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations have taken steps to address Chinese cyber activities, with proposals for tariffs and crackdowns on China's semiconductor industry to hinder its military AI development.
