A government data breach that could have affected four million people has been detected by United States officials who believe Chinese hackers are responsible.
The attack on computers at the Office of Personnel Management, which operates as the federal government's human resource department, could have given hackers material the agency handles, such as background checks, pension payments and job training across dozens of federal agencies,
according to the Wall Street Journal.
The FBI began its own examination into the hacking in April and officials are calling it one of the biggest data thefts in government history, though, they still do not know what information has been taken.
"We take all potential threats to public and private sector systems seriously, and will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace," said FBI spokesman Joshua Campbell,
according to The New York Times.
The Times said the Office of Personnel Management is offering current and former employees 18 months of free credit monitoring to keep an eye on their digital identities in case their information has been stolen.
The president of the American Federation of Government Employees, J. David Cox Sr., said he was informed the data hack could have affected "all 2.1 million current federal employees and an additional two million federal retirees and former employees."
"Protecting our federal employee data from malicious cyberincidents is of the highest priority at OPM," said Katherine Archuleta, the management agency's director. "We take very seriously our responsibility to secure the information stored in our systems, and in coordination with our agency partners, our experienced team is constantly identifying opportunities to further protect the data with which we are entrusted."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei complained about his country being linked to the attacks, saying, "Cyberattacks are anonymous, cross-border and hard to trace. If you keep using the words 'maybe' or 'perhaps' without making a thorough study, this is irresponsible and unscientific. We hope the U.S. side will shed its suspicions."
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