The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | December 31st, 2024: Chinese Hackers Breach US Treasury & The Taliban's Campaign Of 'Gender Apartheid'
Tue, 31 Dec 2024
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First, state-backed Chinese hackers have executed another major breach of sensitive U.S. networks, this time stealing a trove of documents from the U.S. Treasury Department. Then, we’ll look at the latest crackdown by the Taliban on woman in Afghanistan, part of their intensifying campaign to erase women from public life under their system of "gender apartheid." To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are the latest developments in the Chinese hacking incident?
It's Tuesday, 31 December. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. And it would, of course, be the last PDB of 2024, might I add, because, as I think you probably already know, it's New Year's Eve. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed. First, state-backed Chinese hackers have executed another major breach of sensitive U.S.
Chapter 2: How did Chinese hackers breach the U.S. Treasury?
networks, this time stealing a trove of documents from the U.S. Treasury Department. Then, we'll look at the latest crackdown by the Taliban on women in Afghanistan, part of their intensifying campaign to erase women from public life under their system of what is called gender apartheid. It seems like just yesterday when the Taliban were promising to protect women's rights.
Of course, anyone who actually believed that the Taliban would protect women's rights could be accurately classified as a certified moron. But first, our afternoon spotlight. We'll begin with a significant cyber breach of the US Treasury Department by a state-sponsored Chinese hacking operation.
That's just the latest in a recent string of infiltrations linked to the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP. The hackers reportedly compromised the digital keys of a third-party software service provider to gain access to the Treasury Department's systems, which then allowed them to remotely tap into the desktop computers of Treasury employees and steal a trove of unclassified documents.
Well, there's that word again. Trove is now officially the PDB word of the day. Officials with the Treasury are staying tight-lipped regarding details about what documents were obtained, possibly because they don't know yet, but describe the hack as a, quote, major cybersecurity incident.
Chapter 3: What was the response to the cyber breach by the U.S. government?
Upon learning of the breach on December 8, officials at the Treasury Department quickly notified the FBI, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and other members of the intelligence community who began investigating the incident and working to determine the overall impact of the hack.
In a letter to lawmakers, officials said all available evidence at this time suggests the cyber attack was orchestrated by, quote, a China state-sponsored advanced persistent threat actor, end quote. China, of course, quickly denied the allegations, there's a shock, which they called a baseless smear. But the incident comes as the U.S.
Chapter 4: What is the significance of the Salt Typhoon cyber espionage campaign?
continues to grapple with the fallout from another Chinese cyber espionage campaign known as Salt Typhoon, which compromised U.S. telecommunications companies earlier this year in what officials have described as one of the worst hacks in American history. It's almost like the past complaints and harshly worded memos from the U.S. government haven't changed the CCP's behavior.
That breach, which was first discovered in October, has still not been fully remediated, meaning that the hackers may still be active inside America's telecommunications systems. As a reminder, Salt Typhoon's sophisticated campaign targeted U.S. telecom giants, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen, creating backdoors into the company's systems and exposing the data of millions to agents of the CCP.
The hackers cast a large, sweeping net, collecting not only metadata related to call records, but also live phone calls related to specific targets such as high-profile American political leaders. The significance of the threat, well, it's hard to overstate. As you may recall, in October, the hackers are believed to have breached the personal cell phones of President-elect Donald Trump.
and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and successfully intercepted the audio of a conversation involving an unnamed advisor to Trump's campaign. On Friday, the White House provided a brief update on the situation, revealing the number of telecommunications companies confirmed to be impacted by the hack had now risen to nine.
Earlier this month, senior officials with the FBI urged Americans to start using encrypted messaging apps for their private communications in order to stay hidden from the CCP-backed hackers as the authorities continue to work to purge the group from the networks.
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Chapter 5: What new decrees has the Taliban issued regarding women's rights?
Coming up, the Taliban issues two new decrees, further curtailing the rights of Afghan women, expanding their campaign of what's called gender apartheid. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let's talk about your online security. Now, going online without the protection offered by ExpressVPN is like leaving your blinds open at night, right? That's a little creepy.
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Chapter 6: How is privacy impacted by online security breaches?
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Offer is valid for a limited time. Terms and conditions may apply. Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. The Taliban is continuing its war against women in Afghanistan, banning residential buildings from having windows that overlook spaces where women work, such as courtyards, kitchens, or wells. Yes, I can see what they're getting at.
That could be the downfall of any society, being able to observe women drawing water from a well. The foreclaws decree from the Taliban Supreme Leader posted Saturday on X by a Taliban spokesman demands that existing windows be obstructed to prevent what it calls, quote, obscene acts.
Municipal authorities are now charged with enforcing the decree, ensuring compliance with new construction and compelling homeowners to modify existing structures. Homeowners are urged to block these views themselves ostensibly to quote, avoid nuisances caused to neighbors, end quote.
This decree is just the latest in the campaign that the UN has unequivocally labeled, quote, gender apartheid, a systemic erasure of women from public life that has intensified since the Taliban's return to power back in August of 2021. The ban on visible workspaces for women comes as part of a broader crackdown that has already stripped Afghan women of many fundamental rights.
Girls are barred from pursuing education beyond primary school, women are denied access to public spaces like parks, and most forms of female employment have been outlawed. When the Taliban initially announced the suspension of post-primary education for girls, they framed it as a temporary measure to ensure a, quote, safe environment.
In tandem with the latest decree, the Taliban's Ministry of Economy announced Sunday that all national and foreign non-governmental organizations or NGOs employing women will be shuttered, closed, if they fail to comply with the regime's directives. This policy builds on a prior suspension of female NGO employees justified by the Taliban under claims of violations of Islamic dress codes.
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