The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed it suffered a cybersecurity breach, according to Thursday Reuters report, marking the latest sign that alleged China-linked threat groups are targeting Washington’s economic institutions as aggressively as its defense networks.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) — the nonpartisan agency that advises Congress on budget and economic policy — was hacked by what is believed to be the work of Chinese state-backed hackers.
A Senate security alert warned congressional staff to avoid clicking on links from CBO accounts, which “may still be compromised,” as the incident remains ongoing.
The timing amplifies the damage. With the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) operating on one-third staffing amid the ongoing federal shutdown, federal networks have been left thinly defended at a moment of heightened espionage pressure.
CBO spokesperson Caitlin Emma said the agency “took immediate action to contain” the incident and has “implemented additional monitoring and new security controls,” Reuters reported. Beijing denied involvement, insisting it “consistently opposes and strictly combats all forms of cyberattacks,” CNN reported.
The CBO hack signals a shift in cyber espionage from stealing military secrets to mining economic intelligence.
The hack comes just days after a Monday report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation that warned that China’s cyber espionage tactics are shifting from overt state-sponsored intrusions to more covert, insider-style operations targeting U.S. economic and policy data.
The study finds Beijing is now prioritizing access to trade, technology, and regulatory intelligence over traditional military secrets, leveraging both cyber theft and influence inside U.S. firms and research institutions. ITIF concludes that China’s evolving strategy represents a “long-term economic threat” designed to shape U.S. innovation and policy decisions in Beijing’s favor
The CBO had requested an 8% increase in its IT budget for fiscal 2026, citing the need to “enhance cybersecurity and protect sensitive data.” That funding remains frozen in the shutdown, leaving U.S. lawmakers’ own research arm exposed just as economic intelligence becomes a prime target in global cyber espionage.
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