The FT reports that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was hit by a ransomware attack that may have disrupted the US Treasury market.
The report says ICBC was prevented from settling bond trades on behalf of others. It’s a worrisome attack at China’s largest bank, though reports say that it’s starting to restore services.
I’m not sure if that could go towards explaining why today’s Treasury auction was so weak but the non-dealer takedown was poor (ICBC isn’t a primary dealer).
In nay case, the bond market has recovered more than half its losses on the poor auction, so there are certainly doubts about the signal from the sale.