US entrepreneur questions Secretary of Treasury’s digital competence amid allegations about Chinese hackers

US entrepreneur Elon Musk has stated that US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen lacks sufficient digital literacy and is unlikely to know how to reboot a router.

“A 12-year-old script kiddie could hack into Yellen’s computer. I doubt she knows how to reboot her WiFi router,” Musk wrote on X in response to a media report about hackers, allegedly from China, gaining access to documents of the US officials, Caliber.Az reports.

A 12-year-old script kiddie could hack into Yellen’s computer. I doubt she knows how to reboot her WiFi router. https://t.co/4Bv0P9NKaK

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 17, 2025

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's computer was hacked, and unclassified files were accessed as part of a broader breach of the Treasury Department by Chinese state-sponsored hackers. 

The computers of two of Yellen's senior aides, Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Acting Under Secretary Brad Smith, were also compromised, the report stated.

The hackers accessed fewer than 50 files on Yellen's machine. The hack, which the Treasury described as a "major incident," occurred in December when Chinese state-sponsored hackers breached the department's computer security by compromising third-party cybersecurity service provider BeyondTrust, according to Treasury officials. 

"China has always opposed all forms of hacker attacks," said Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, at the time.

By Naila Huseynova