The cybersecurity landscape of the US has been fraught with tension over the past month following the disclosure by the Department of Treasury that it fell victim to a hack in December 2024, an act allegedly perpetrated by Chinese agents. The gravity of the situation was further underscored by recent reports indicating that the systems of high-ranking officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, were also compromised in the breach.
Despite the gravitas of the situation, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, found the opportunity to make light of the incident. Musk, known for his fondness for cryptocurrency, used the incident as fodder for his characteristic humor.
The Tesla CEO responded to the reports of Yellen’s computer being accessed during the breach with a quip, suggesting that the Treasury Secretary may have fallen prey to a Bitcoin scam. “Maybe she clicked on the ‘send me 1 btc, I send you 2btc’ email,” Musk posted on Friday, January 17, inciting laughter among his followers. This humorous comment refers to a common scam wherein fraudsters, often impersonating influential figures such as Musk himself, promise to double the Bitcoins of their victims.
However, it’s crucial to note that the Treasury Department did not report the incident as a direct breach of their own systems. Instead, they identified it as a supply chain attack, a cybersecurity breach that targets an organization through a third-party service provider. In this instance, the Treasury Department pointed to BeyondTrust, a cybersecurity service provider, as the compromised party.
Musk’s humorous jab at Yellen is the latest exchange in a line of public interactions between the two high-profile figures. A history of subtle — and not so subtle — animosity exists between Musk and Yellen. Musk, in April 2023, questioned Yellen’s competence in her role and even stated his preference for Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet as Treasury Secretary.
Prior to that, in November 2022, Yellen had suggested that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) might need to investigate Musk’s purchase of X (then still Twitter). The CFIUS, a legislative committee currently led by Yellen, was established with the purpose of evaluating the national security risks associated with foreign investments in the U.S. economy.
Regardless of the humor, the breach underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures, even for high-ranking officials. It also highlights the ongoing concerns around cryptocurrency scams, a topic Musk, despite his jest, is all too familiar with.
