The attack exposed significant vulnerabilities in the global market for US Treasuries. It also signals that Chinese organisations, especially those that do business in the United States, may be a growing target for Russian cybercriminals such as LockBit, which claimed credit for the attack.
The attack will continue to disrupt global US Treasuries trade for some time, affecting Treasury market liquidity.
Moscow has an incentive to investigate the attack and potential state links in order not to alienate Beijing.
Russian authorities may arrest any LockBit member based in Russia or warn its cybercrime syndicates not to target Chinese companies.
Chinese investigations into any ransom paid by ICBC could trigger a wider crackdown on cryptocurrency purchases by Chinese entities.
