As President Trump prepares to assume office, he faces a digital battleground unlike any seen before.
Recent revelations paint a grim picture: Chinese threat actors have infiltrated critical U.S. infrastructure, from telecoms to surveillance systems — even breaching the Treasury Department’s sanctions division.
According to Reuters, Chinese state-sponsored hackers breached the U.S. Treasury Department at the end of 2024 via a compromised digital key from third-party cybersecurity provider BeyondTrust.
The attackers then accessed unclassified documents and user workstations, part of a pattern of abusing trusted third-party services.
In a letter to lawmakers, the incident was attributed to a Chinese advanced persistent threat (APT) actor, prompting a quick response from the Treasury, CISA, and the FBI.
Beijing denied involvement.
It comes alongside threat actor Salt Typhoon’s cyber warfare operation against the U.S., which continues to add new telcos to the victims’ lists.
And as experts tell us, the question is not what happened but what to do next.
Key Takeaways
- Chinese hackers breached U.S. Treasury systems through a compromised vendor key.
- An expert panel tells Techopedia that Trump must conduct a comprehensive audit during his transition to power.
- Real-time monitoring, supply chain security and rooting out any existing infiltration must happen immediately.
- Experts also answer which security technologies Trump should deploy on day one to help against the threats of Chinese cyber warfare against the U.S.
