SILK TYPHOON: China's Cyber Spies Inside America's Treasury

By Mark Nole

The Money Trail They Don't Want You to Follow

While Americans were focused on holiday celebrations in December 2024, Chinese hackers were busy infiltrating one of our government's most sensitive financial agencies. A group known as "Silk Typhoon" silently breached the U.S. Treasury Department, specifically targeting the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) – the very office responsible for implementing U.S. sanctions against hostile foreign nations.

This wasn't just another data breach – it was a direct attack on America's financial sovereignty and our ability to enforce sanctions against our adversaries, including China itself.

The Treasury Department Kept it Quiet

For weeks, this critical breach was kept under wraps. Only in January 2025 did Americans begin to learn the truth: Silk Typhoon hackers had stolen over 3,000 sensitive Treasury files, including documents related to sanctions policies, organizational charts, and foreign investment reviews.

Why wasn't this front-page news? Why weren't American citizens immediately informed that Chinese spies had infiltrated the department controlling our nation's financial security?

Not Just Another Hacking Group

Silk Typhoon is not new to the cyber espionage game. Previously known as "Hafnium," this Chinese state-sponsored group was responsible for the massive Microsoft Exchange Server attack in 2021 that compromised tens of thousands of organizations worldwide. They've been silently targeting American interests for years, focusing on:

• •Government agencies
• •Healthcare organizations
• •Defense contractors
• •Universities
• •Policy think tanks
• •Non-governmental organizations

The mainstream media rarely connects these dots, treating each breach as an isolated incident rather than part of China's coordinated campaign against American interests.

Their New Dangerous Tactic: Supply Chain Attacks

What makes Silk Typhoon particularly dangerous now is their new strategy. Instead of directly targeting government agencies, they're infiltrating the IT companies that provide services to these agencies. It's like a thief who can't break into your house directly, so they steal the locksmith's keys instead.

In the Treasury attack, the hackers didn't breach the Treasury's systems directly. Instead, they compromised BeyondTrust, a cybersecurity company that provides remote support services to the Treasury. They stole an API key – essentially a digital master key – that gave them access to Treasury workstations.

This supply chain strategy makes these attacks nearly impossible to detect and stop using traditional security measures.

The Taiwan Connection – Again

Just like with Volt Typhoon's attacks on our power grid and Salt Typhoon's infiltration of our telecommunications networks, the Silk Typhoon campaign has connections to China's ambitions regarding Taiwan.

By breaching the Treasury Department and specifically targeting sanctions-related information, China gains insight into how America might respond economically to any military action against Taiwan. It's reconnaissance for economic warfare.

What They Got Their Hands On

The Treasury Department has tried to downplay the breach, but reports indicate the hackers accessed:

• •Sanctions policy documents
• •Foreign investment reviews
• •Treasury organizational charts
• •Internal Treasury communications
• •Travel documents of senior officials

This information gives China unprecedented insight into how our financial system operates and how we make decisions about economic sanctions – a critical tool in America's foreign policy arsenal.

How to Protect Your Financial Information

While you can't directly stop Chinese hackers from breaching government agencies, you can take steps to protect your own financial security in this increasingly dangerous cyber landscape:

1. 1.Use different passwords for financial accounts: Never use the same password across multiple financial platforms.
2. 2.Enable multi-factor authentication: Especially for bank accounts, investment accounts, and credit monitoring services.
3. 3.Regularly check your credit report: Look for unauthorized accounts or inquiries that might indicate your information has been compromised.
4. 4.Be wary of phishing attempts: Government-themed scams may increase as hackers leverage stolen information.
5. 5.Consider a credit freeze: This prevents new accounts from being opened in your name without your explicit permission.
6. 6.Monitor your accounts regularly: Check bank and credit card statements weekly for suspicious activity.

The Bigger Picture: China's Three-Pronged Cyber Attack

The Silk Typhoon breach isn't happening in isolation. It's part of China's coordinated cyber campaign against America:

• •Volt Typhoon targets our critical infrastructure and power grid
• •Salt Typhoon infiltrates our telecommunications networks
• •Silk Typhoon breaches our financial systems and government agencies

Together, these attacks give China leverage over nearly every aspect of American society – our power, our communications, and our money.

The Bottom Line

The Silk Typhoon breach of the U.S. Treasury represents a direct threat to America's financial sovereignty and our ability to implement foreign policy through economic measures. While officials downplay the significance, the reality is clear: China is methodically mapping out our financial systems, gathering intelligence, and positioning itself to potentially neutralize our economic responses in a future conflict.

Americans deserve to know the full extent of these breaches and what they mean for our national security. Our leaders must be held accountable for securing our vital systems against these persistent threats.