US: Data on 4M gov’t staff hacked

WASHINGTON—The US government on Thursday admitted hackers accessed the personal data of at least four million current and former federal employees, in a vast cyberattack suspected to have originated in China.

“As a result of the incident,” uncovered in April, the Office of Personnel Management said it “will send notifications to approximately four million individuals.”

It added that additional exposures “may come to light.” The government’s personnel department handles hundreds of thousands of sensitive security clearances and background investigations on prospective employees each year.

It was not immediately clear whether the hack affected President Barack Obama, other senior government officials or the intelligence community.

The Washington Post and other US media cited government officials as saying that Chinese hackers were behind the breach.

But the Chinese embassy in Washington countered that such attacks would not be allowed under Chinese law.

“Jumping to conclusions and making hypothetical accusa- tions is not responsible and counterproductive,” embassy spokesperson Zhu Haiquan said.

“Chinese laws prohibit cyber crimes of all forms. China has made great efforts to combat cyberattacks in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations,” he added.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security are said to be leading the investigation. The FBI in a statement said it “will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace.”

Officials refused to assign attribution or motive, but pointed affected parties to measures that could prevent fraud and identity theft. The government will, through a third party, offer $1 million in identity theft protection services at no cost.

“Protecting our federal employee data from malicious cyber incidents is of the highest priority,” Office of Personnel Management director Katherine Archuleta said.

Her agency said the intrusion may have begun late last year and “predated the adoption of the tougher security controls.”