US Government Announces Massive Breach in Data Hack
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Data breaches at the US government's personnel management agency by hackers, with suspicions centring on China, involves millions more people than previously estimated, US officials said on Thursday.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said data stolen from its computer networks included Social Security numbers and other sensitive information on 21.5 million people who have undergone background checks for security clearances.
That is in addition to data on about 4.2 million current and former federal workers that was stolen in what the OPM called a "separate but related" hacking incident. Because many people were affected by both hacks, a total of 22.1 million people were affected, or almost 7 percent of the US population.
The breach had already been considered one of the most damaging on record because of its scale and, more importantly, the sensitivity of the material taken.
Those exposed included 19.7 million who applied for the clearances – current, former, and prospective federal employees and contractors – plus 1.8 million non-applicants, mostly spouses or co-habitants of applicants, the agency said.
Lawmakers from both parties demanded OPM Director Katherine Archuleta’s removal. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, said President Barack Obama "must take a strong stand against incompetence in his administration and instill new leadership at OPM."
"The technological and security failures at the Office of Personnel Management predate this director's term, but Director Archuleta's slow and uneven response has not inspired confidence that she is the right person to manage OPM through this crisis," added Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner.
Archuleta said neither she nor OPM chief information officer Donna Seymour would be resigning. "I am committed to the work that I am doing at OPM," Archuleta told reporters during a conference call. "I have trust in the staff that is there." The White House said Obama retains confidence in Archuleta, Reuters reported.
The United States has identified China as the leading suspect in the massive hacking of the US government agency, an assertion China's Foreign Ministry dismissed as "absurd logic." Asked during a conference call with reporters on Thursday whether China was responsible, a White House National Security Council official, Michael Daniel, said "we're not really prepared to comment at this time on the attribution behind this event."
