The U.S. Treasury Sanctions Beijing-Based Cybersecurity Company for Hacking Critical Infrastructure
The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on a Beijing-based cybersecurity company for its alleged involvement in multiple hacking incidents targeting critical U.S. infrastructure. Integrity Technology Group, Inc. was hit with sanctions by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for conducting hacks against U.S. victims, including those attributed to Flax Typhoon, a Chinese state-sponsored campaign targeting U.S. critical infrastructure.
This action comes shortly after the Treasury reported that Chinese hackers had remotely accessed several U.S. Treasury Department workstations and unclassified documents in a significant cybersecurity incident.
The Treasury Department discovered the breach on December 8 when a third-party software service provider identified that hackers had stolen a key used to secure a cloud-based service for providing technical support to workers.
While these sanctions were imposed, they do not appear to be directly related to the December 8 Treasury hack.
Treasury Acting Under Secretary Bradley Smith emphasized the U.S.’s dedication to combatting cyber threats and enhancing cybersecurity measures across sectors.
These sanctions block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prohibit the sanctioned individuals and entities from engaging in business with Americans.
Officials in the U.S. are actively addressing the repercussions of the Salt Typhoon cyberespionage campaign, which allowed Chinese officials access to private communications of an undisclosed number of Americans.