The United States revealed that it knew exactly who was behind the hack on the US Treasury and is sanctioning those responsible. The culprits are also behind a string of high-profile attacks including a campaign on government agencies and US telecom companies.

The US is sanctioning Yin Kecheng, a known Chinese threat actor, and Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology, a Chinese cybersecurity company with direct ties to the Salt Tycoon hacking group.

Yin Kechang has been a cyber actor for more than a decade and has a close relationship with the Ministry of State Security (MSS). His career included many cyber attacks on US citizens. He has been a key figure in Salt Tycoon since 2019 and played an important role in the Treasury hack.

Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology has allegedly been financially contributing to Salt Tycoon since 2019 and is a threat to national security.

“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC,” the Treasury Department said in a statement. “In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.”

These sanctions also mean that anyone caught trading with either entity will be subject to civil or criminal penalties. Interestingly, unknown officials claimed that the hackers breached the treasury to learn about upcoming sanctions before ironically provoking a brand new sanction.

The US is currently offering up to $10 million for tips that lead to the identification or location of anyone who is operating as an online threat actor and attacks critical US infrastructure. If you have any information, contact the US Department of State.