The U.S. government has announced sanctions against a Chinese group with ties to Salt Typhoon, the hacking group responsible for the largest telecommunications hack in U.S. history.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Friday that it had imposed sanctions on a Chinese cybersecurity company called Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology, saying the company had direct ties to the China-backed Salt Typhoon hacking group.

Salt Typhoon was recently identified as responsible for the largest telecom hack in U.S. history, in which hackers penetrated at least nine U.S. telecom and internet providers, including AT&T and Verizon, to gain access to the private communications of senior U.S. government officials and politicians permissions.

Hackers also broke into systems used by law enforcement agencies for court-authorized collection of customer data, potentially accessing sensitive data such as the identities of Chinese targets of U.S. surveillance.

OFAC said in a press release on Friday that Sichuan Juxinhe "is directly involved in the exploitation of these U.S. telecommunications and Internet service provider companies."

Treasury hackers sanctioned

OFAC also announced sanctions against Shanghai-based cyber attacker Yin Kecheng, whom U.S. officials claimed was responsible for recent widespread hacks of the U.S. Treasury Department.

The hack, which occurred in late December, saw hackers remotely access certain Treasury employee workstations using private keys stolen from BeyondTrust, a cybersecurity company that provides identity access technology to large organizations and government departments.

The cyberattack enabled hackers - another Chinese state-backed group, Silk Typhoon - to target various parts of the U.S. Treasury Department, including its sanctions office.

According to OFAC, Yin Kecheng has engaged in cyber conduct for more than a decade and is affiliated with China's Ministry of State Security, the intelligence and security agency responsible for China's foreign intelligence collection.

“Treasury will continue to use its authority to hold those with malicious intent against the American people, our companies, and the U.S. government accountable,” Treasury official Adewale O. Adeyemo said in a statement on Friday. Responsibilities of cyber actors, including malicious cyber actors who target the American people, our companies and the U.S. government, "especially the Treasury Department. "

Earlier this month, the U.S. government sanctioned another Chinese cybersecurity company over alleged ties to the government-backed hacking group Flax Typhoon. The U.S. Treasury Department said the company, Integrity Technology Group, was involved in "multiple computer intrusions targeting U.S. victims," ​​including U.S. critical infrastructure.