New York : Four million current and former federal employees, from nearly every government agency, might have had their personal information stolen by Chinese hackers, U.S. investigators have said. US officials believe this could be the biggest breach ever of the government’s computer networks.
China called the allegation irresponsible. “Cyber attacks are generally anonymous and conducted across borders and their origins are hard to trace,” foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular briefing. “Not to carry out a deep investigation and to keep using such language is irresponsible and unscientific,” Hong said. The Chinese Foreign Ministry also pointed out that it too has been a victim of cyber attacks in the past.
The breach was initially thought to have impacted the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Interior, but government officials said nearly every federal government agency was hit by the hackers. An assessment continues, and it is possible millions of more government employees may be affected.
When reports last trickled in, the US government was in a mad scramble to assess the impact of the massive data breach involving agencies that handle security clearances and US government employee records.
