U.S. government hacked; feds think China is the culprit

[Zarvan]

Washington (CNN)Four million current and former federal employees might have had their personal information hacked, the Office of Personnel Management said on Thursday.

The agency, which is conducting background checks, warned it was urging potential victims to monitor their financial statements and get new credit reports.

U.S. officials believe this could be the biggest breach ever of the government's computer networks.

The breach is beyond the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Interior, with nearly every federal government agency hit by the hackers, government officials said.

An assessment continues, and it is possible millions more government employees may be affected.



U.S. investigators: We believe this was China's work


U.S. investigators believe they can trace the breach to the Chinese government. Hackers working for the Chinese military are believed to be compiling a massive database of Americans, intelligence officials told CNN on Thursday night.

It is not clear what the purpose of the database is.

The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal first reported Thursday that Chinese hackers were responsible for the breach.

A spokesman from the Chinese Embassy in Washington objected late Friday to allegations that the Chinese government may be behind the massive hack.

"Cyberattacks conducted across countries are hard to track, and therefore the source of attacks is difficult to identify. Jumping to conclusions and making hypothetical accusation is not responsible and counterproductive," said Zhu Haiquan.



EINSTEIN detection system


Employees of the legislative and judicial branches and uniformed military personnel were not affected.

There are 2.7 million federal executive branch employees. It's unclear whether this affected all of them, along with former employees, or only a portion of them.

The federal personnel office learned of the data breach after it began to toughen its cybersecurity defense system. When it discovered malicious activity, authorities used a detection system called EINSTEIN to eventually unearth the information breach in April 2015, the Department of Homeland Security said.

A month later, the federal agency learned sensitive data had been compromised.

The FBI is investigating what led to the breach.

"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," the FBI said in a statement.

The federal personnel office said "personally identifiable information" had been breached, though the office didn't name who might be responsible.



Senator: The breach is 'disturbing'


Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, called the breach "disturbing" and said the Office of Personnel Management needs to do a better job securing its information.

"It is disturbing to learn that hackers could have sensitive personal information on a huge number of current and former federal employees -- and, if media reports are correct, that information could be in the hands of China," Johnson said in a statement. "(The office) says it 'has undertaken an aggressive effort to update its cybersecurity posture.' Plainly, it must do a better job, especially given the sensitive nature of the information it holds."

U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said hackers are one of the "greatest challenges we face on a daily bases."

"It's clear that a substantial improvement in our cyber databases and defenses is perilously overdue," Schiff said in a statement. "That's why the House moved forward on cybersecurity legislation earlier this year, and it's my hope that this latest incident will spur the Senate to action."

CNN's Evan Perez and Jim Sciutto contributed to this report.
U.S. government hacked; feds think China is the culprit - CNNPolitics.com

 

[Hindustani78]

Updated: June 5, 2015 09:32 IST
Massive cyber attack hits US federal workers, probe focuses on China - The Hindu

Hackers broke into U.S. government computers, possibly compromising the personal data of 4 million current and former federal employees, and investigators were probing whether the culprits were based in China, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

In the latest in a string of intrusions into U.S. agencies’ high-tech systems, the Office of Personnel Management suffered what appeared to be one of the largest breaches of information ever on government workers. The office handles employee records and security clearances.

A U.S. law enforcement source told Reuters a “foreign entity or government” was believed to be behind the cyber attack. Authorities were looking into a possible Chinese connection, a source close to the matter said.

A Chinese Embassy spokesman in Washington said hypothetical accusations were irresponsible and counterproductive. He said it was hard to track hacker activity across borders.

The FBI said it had launched a probe and aimed to bring to account those responsible.

OPM detected new malicious activity affecting its information systems in April and the Department of Homeland Security said it concluded at the beginning of May that the agency’s data had been compromised and about 4 million workers may have been affected.

The agencies involved did not specify exactly what kind of information was accessed.

The breach hit OPM’s IT systems and its data stored at the Department of the Interior’s data centre, a shared service centre for federal agencies, a DHS official said on condition of anonymity. The official would not comment on whether other agencies’ data had been affected.

OPM had previously been the victim of another cyber attack, as have various federal government computer systems at the State Department, the U.S. Postal Service and the White House.

Chinese hackers were blamed for penetrating OPM’s computer networks in 2014, and hackers appeared to have targeted files on tens of thousands of employees who had applied for top-secret security clearances, the New York Times reported in July 2014, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

“The FBI is working with our interagency partners to investigate this matter,” the bureau said in a statement. “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.”

The U.S. government has long raised concerns about cyber spying and theft emanating from China and has urged Beijing to do more to curb the problem.

Chinese Embassy spokesman Zhu Haiquan said in reply to a Reuters query that China had made great efforts to combat cyber attacks.

“Jumping to conclusions and making (a) hypothetical accusation is not responsible,” and is “counterproductive,” Mr. Zhu said in emailed comments.

There was no comment from the White House.

Since the intrusion, OPM said it had implemented additional security precautions for its networks. It said it would notify the 4 million employees and offer credit monitoring and identity theft services to those affected.

“The last few months have seen a series of massive data breaches that have affected millions of Americans,” U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement.

He called the latest intrusion “among the most shocking because Americans may expect that federal computer networks are maintained with state-of-the-art defences”.

“It’s clear that a substantial improvement in our cyber databases and defences is perilously overdue,” Mr. Schiff added.

The largest federal employee union said it was working with the administration to ensure measures were taken to secure the personal information of affected employees.

“AFGE will demand accountability,” American Federation of Government Employees president J. David Cox Sr. said in a statement.

In April, President Barack Obama responded to a growing rash of attacks aimed at U.S. computer networks by launching a sanctions program to target individuals and groups outside the United States that use cyber attacks to threaten U.S. foreign policy, national security or economic stability.

The move followed indictments of five Chinese military officers who were charged with economic espionage. U.S. officials also pointed the finger directly at North Korea for a high-profile attack on Sony over a film spoof depicting the assassination of North Korea’s leader.

China has routinely denied accusations by U.S. investigators that hackers backed by the Chinese government have been behind attacks on U.S. companies and federal agencies.

Mr. Obama has moved cybersecurity toward the top of his 2015 agenda after recent breaches, and the White House says he raises the issue in meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

U.S. military officials have become increasingly vocal about cyber espionage and attacks launched by China, Russia and other rivals. A Pentagon report in April said hackers associated with the Chinese government repeatedly targeted U.S. military networks in 2014 seeking intelligence.

In unveiling an updated cyber strategy last month, U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter singled out threats from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea and stressed the military’s ability to retaliate with cyber weapons.

 

[C130]

lmao, you can't help but laugh about this. i honestly don't care if China got caught red handed or not... it's the fact the government is top inept to figure out a way to stop it.


let's spend billions on anti ballistic missiles and LCS, but meanwhile our potential adversey has free reign in our databases.

if they can hack the government they surely can ave the private mainframs that control pretty much everything from banking,transportation, and power.


but hey gotta gotta keep the MIC working on crap that'll never be used or if has to be used well that's pretty much game over WW3


congrats china. keep humiliating this joke of a government

 

[Hindustani78]

Personal data of 4 million current and former federal employees.

 

[Galad]

Yes yes USA(which never ever ever lying) think China did it.While providing zero hard data to back up such claims.Well even without proof enough of the "smart" western population will believe it.There's been no credible evidence released to suggest that China has had any involvement in the hacks, and would have nothing to gain from participation in them.But it means nothing-already there calls for quick adopting of cyber legislation(most probably ala "Patriotic Act"). And of course certain crazy senator leads the charge.McCain - the increasing frequency of cyber attacks on the United States should prompt Congress to pass cyber security legislation without delay. And of course without delivering anything even remotely resembling a proof for his claims.Such hacks done by "China" are so so useful ...

 

[PDF]

US claims data on four million government staff “hacked”

WASHINGTON DC:

The US government on Thursday admitted hackers accessed the personal data of at least four million current and former federal employees, in a vast cyber-attack 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 accusations is not responsible and counterproductive,” embassy spokesman Zhu Haiquan said.

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

The 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 identify 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,” adding that government staff will be notified from June 8 if they are affected.

The new measures include restricting remote access, screening business connections and deploying anti-malware software.

It is just the latest in a series of major breaches that have shown the vulnerability of the federal government.

Last year Russian hackers are believed to have accessed unclassified computer systems at the White House and State Department.

Hackers stole information on 100,000 taxpayers from the online computers of the US Internal Revenue Service.

Obama has ranked China and Russia’s cyber-attack capabilities as “very good,” Iran’s as “good,” and North Korea’s as not “particularly good.”

China operates a vast security and surveillance apparatus, with the ruling Communist Party maintaining a resolute grip on power.

In a recent white paper, Beijing said it would “expedite the development of a cyber-force” within the People’s Liberation Army.

The United States has voiced an increasingly strident tone about cyber-attacks in recent months.

Admiral Michael Rogers, who heads the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command, has said that future attacks could prompt a response with conventional weapons.

In February, US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said a steady stream of low-level cyber-attacks posed the most likely danger to the United States, rather than a potential digital “armageddon.”

He said foreign “actors” are conducting reconnaissance and gaining digital access to US infrastructure systems, so they can launch a cyber-attack if necessary in the future.

There is growing concern that criminals, terror groups or spy agencies could target critical infrastructure such as power grids or air traffic control systems.

The Government Accountability Office warned in April of growing cyber threats against America and said the danger was “heightened by weaknesses in the federal government’s approach to protecting federal systems and information.”

The National Security Agency has reportedly been given wider powers to spy on Internet traffic in search of computer hacking by foreign governments or others.

US claims data on four million government staff “hacked” | Pakistan Today

 

[gambit]

Yes yes USA(which never ever ever lying) think China did it.While providing zero hard data to back up such claims.Well even without proof enough of the "smart" western population will believe it.There's been no credible evidence released to suggest that China has had any involvement in the hacks, and would have nothing to gain from participation in them.But it means nothing-already there calls for quick adopting of cyber legislation(most probably ala "Patriotic Act"). And of course certain crazy senator leads the charge.McCain - the increasing frequency of cyber attacks on the United States should prompt Congress to pass cyber security legislation without delay. And of course without delivering anything even remotely resembling a proof for his claims.Such hacks done by "China" are so so useful ...

This is why we do not take BG seriously.

If you perform an intelligence act, you do not reveal how you did it, such as the name(s) involved, the techniques used, the time, the place, and the methods. Likewise, if you managed to attribute said deed to a certain party, it would be equally foolish to reveal how you did it.

This is not a court of law and since whoever did it did not care for the court of public opinions, why should we, especially when said opinions came from minor countries like BG that barely registers on the map of international affairs ?

 

[tranquilium]

lmao, you can't help but laugh about this. i honestly don't care if China got caught red handed or not... it's the fact the government is top inept to figure out a way to stop it.


let's spend billions on anti ballistic missiles and LCS, but meanwhile our potential adversey has free reign in our databases.

if they can hack the government they surely can ave the private mainframs that control pretty much everything from banking,transportation, and power.


but hey gotta gotta keep the MIC working on crap that'll never be used or if has to be used well that's pretty much game over WW3


congrats china. keep humiliating this joke of a government

I listened to FOX and CNN report on the subject for the past few days. The report from Feds is actually something along the line of "we don't actually know who did it, but it has gotta to be the Chinese." One of the former NSA member actually said out loud that they can't trace this kind of attack through the internet. He did then add that due to the technical nature of the attack, only a few country could done it, but so far there really isn't any evidence of which China did it, hence why neither white house nor Chinese government is saying anything.

 

[jhungary]

lmao, you can't help but laugh about this. i honestly don't care if China got caught red handed or not... it's the fact the government is top inept to figure out a way to stop it.


let's spend billions on anti ballistic missiles and LCS, but meanwhile our potential adversey has free reign in our databases.

if they can hack the government they surely can ave the private mainframs that control pretty much everything from banking,transportation, and power.


but hey gotta gotta keep the MIC working on crap that'll never be used or if has to be used well that's pretty much game over WW3


congrats china. keep humiliating this joke of a government

Quite contrary, US Cyber Warfare Division within DoD and NSA is actually top of the world.

US have a lot more significant resources devoted to provide protection and active engagement to cyber security. Most hack US announce are actually counter intelligence warfare rather than actual lost.

If you look at those incident in Intelligence collecting standpoint, you would see most of those hack are not important data, otherwise the US would have kept the mouth shut rather than expose such hacks and expose their own secret. If they (the US government) have to tell you they have been hack, they would also need to divulge what have been hack and should that item be anyway important, US government would not publicize the hacking so to protect the secret that's been hack.

If I remember correctly, the only incident the world found out US is actively hacking other people (US and Foreign National) is when Snowden decided to tell all. And there aren't any incident foreign country accuse of US hacking their governmental system, but do you think if there are no one raising such clause does than mean the US have not hack other country?

 

[Hindustani78]

Officials: Second hack exposed military and intel data
6:56 p.m. EDT June 12, 2015

WASHINGTON — Hackers linked to China appear to have gained access to the sensitive background information submitted by intelligence and military personnel for security clearances, several U.S. officials said Friday, describing a second cyberbreach of federal records that could dramatically compound the potential damage.


The forms authorities believed to have been accessed, known as Standard Form 86, require applicants to fill out deeply personal information about mental illnesses, drug and alcohol use, past arrests and bankruptcies. They also require the listing of contacts and relatives, potentially exposing any foreign relatives of U.S. intelligence employees to coercion. Both the applicant's Social Security number and that of his or her cohabitant is required.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the security clearance material is classified.

"This tells the Chinese the identities of almost everybody who has got a United States security clearance," said Joel Brenner, a former top U.S. counterintelligence official. "That makes it very hard for any of those people to function as an intelligence officer. The database also tells the Chinese an enormous amount of information about almost everyone with a security clearance. That's a gold mine. It helps you approach and recruit spies."

The Office of Personnel Management, which was the target of the hack, has not officially notified military or intelligence personnel whose security clearance data was breached, but news of the second hack was starting to circulate in both the Pentagon and the CIA.

The officials said they believe the hack into the security clearance database was separate from the breach of federal personnel data announced last week — a breach that is itself appearing far worse than first believed. It could not be learned whether the security database breach happened when an OPM contractor was hacked in 2013, an attack that was discovered last year. Members of Congress received classified briefings about that breach in September, but there was no mention of security clearance information being exposed.

The OPM had no immediate comment Friday.

Nearly all of the millions of security clearance holders, including CIA, National Security Agency and military special operations personnel, are potentially exposed in the security clearance breach, the officials said. More than 4 million people had been investigated for a security clearance as of October 2014, according to government records.

In the hack of standard personnel records announced last week, two people briefed on the investigation disclosed Friday that as many as 14 million current and former civilian U.S. government employees have had their information exposed to hackers, a far higher figure than the 4 million the Obama administration initially disclosed.

American officials have said that cybertheft originated in China and that they suspect espionage by the Chinese government, which has denied any involvement.

The newer estimate puts the number of compromised records between 9 million and 14 million going back to the 1980s, said one congressional official and one former U.S. official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because information disclosed in the confidential briefings includes classified details of the investigation.

There are about 2.6 million executive branch civilians, so the majority of the records exposed relate to former employees. Contractor information also has been stolen, officials said. The data in the hack revealed last week include the records of most federal civilian employees, though not members of Congress and their staffs, members of the military or staff of the intelligence agencies.

On Thursday, a major union said it believes the hackers stole Social Security numbers, military records and veterans' status information, addresses, birth dates, job and pay histories; health insurance, life insurance and pension information; and age, gender and race data.

The personnel records would provide a foreign government an extraordinary roadmap to blackmail, impersonate or otherwise exploit federal employees in an effort to gain access to U.S. secrets —or entry into government computer networks.

Outside experts were pointing to the breaches as a blistering indictment of the U.S. government's ability to secure its own data two years after a National Security Agency contractor, Edward Snowden, was able to steal tens of thousands of the agency's most sensitive documents.

After the Snowden revelations about government surveillance, it became more difficult for the federal government to hire talented younger people into sensitive jobs, particularly at intelligence agencies, said Evan Lesser, managing director of ClearanceJobs.com, a website that matches security-clearance holders to available slots.

"Now, if you get a job with the government, your own personal information may not be secure," he said. "This is going to multiply the government's hiring problems many times."

The Social Security numbers were not encrypted, the American Federation of Government Employees said, calling that "an abysmal failure on the part of the agency to guard data that has been entrusted to it by the federal workforce."

"Unencrypted information of this kind this is disgraceful — it really is disgraceful," Brenner said. "We've had wakeup calls now for 20 years or more, and we keep hitting the snooze button."

Samuel Schumach, an OPM spokesman, would not address how the data was protected or specifics of the information that might have been compromised, but said, "Today's adversaries are sophisticated enough that encryption alone does not guarantee protection." OPM is nonetheless increasing its use of encryption, he said.

The Obama administration had acknowledged that up to 4.2 million current and former employees whose information resides in the Office of Personnel Management server are affected by the December cyberbreach, but it had been vague about exactly what was taken.

J. David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in a letter Thursday to OPM director Katherine Archuleta that based on incomplete information OPM provided to the union, "the hackers are now in possession of all personnel data for every federal employee, every federal retiree and up to 1 million former federal employees."

Another federal employee group, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, said Friday that "at this point, we believe AFGE's assessment of the breach is overstated." It called on the OPM to provide more information.

Rep. Mike Rogers, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said last week that he believes China will use the recently stolen information for "the mother of all spear-phishing attacks."

Spear-phishing is a technique under which hackers send emails designed to appear legitimate so that users open them and load spyware onto their networks.


___

Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this story.

 

[Götterdämmerung]

Yes yes USA(which never ever ever lying) think China did it.While providing zero hard data to back up such claims.Well even without proof enough of the "smart" western population will believe it.There's been no credible evidence released to suggest that China has had any involvement in the hacks, and would have nothing to gain from participation in them.But it means nothing-already there calls for quick adopting of cyber legislation(most probably ala "Patriotic Act"). And of course certain crazy senator leads the charge.McCain - the increasing frequency of cyber attacks on the United States should prompt Congress to pass cyber security legislation without delay. And of course without delivering anything even remotely resembling a proof for his claims.Such hacks done by "China" are so so useful ...

Most of us in Germany feel nothing but schadenfreude.

Take a look at this news article and particularly the comments: USA drohen China mit Sanktionen wegen Hacker-Angriff | DEUTSCHE WIRTSCHAFTS NACHRICHTEN

 

[BHAN85]

If this news would be true then they wouldnt publish it.

USA trying to fool the whole world, once again.

I hope that USA deep state doesnt use this fake news to blackmailing their own agents. That's they style

 

[Hindustani78]

Former United States Secretary of State and Democratic candidate for president Hillary Clinton walks in the Fourth of July Parade in Gorham, New Hampshire.

Hillary Clinton accuses China of hacking U.S. computers - The Hindu
China has denied hacking into the computers of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton accused China on Saturday of stealing commercial secrets and "huge amounts of government information," and of trying to "hack into everything that doesn't move in America."

Ms. Clinton's language on China appeared to be far stronger than that usually used by President Barack Obama's Democratic administration.

Speaking at a campaign event in New Hampshire, Ms. Clinton said she wanted to see China's peaceful rise.

"But we also have to be fully vigilant, China's military is growing very quickly, they're establishing military installations that again threaten countries we have treaties with, like the Philippines because they are building on contested property," said Ms. Clinton, who was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

"They're also trying to hack into everything that doesn't move in America. Stealing commercial secrets ... from defene contractors, stealing huge amounts of government information, all looking for an advantage," she said.

Ms. Clinton is the front-runner to win the Democratic nomination for the November 2016 presidential election.

Asked about the remarks, a White House official declined to comment.

In the most recent case involving suspicions of Chinese hacking, Obama administration officials have said China is the top suspect in the massive hacking of a U.S. government agency that compromised the personnel records of at least 4.2 million current and former government workers.

China has denied hacking into the computers of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Iran and Putin

Ms. Clinton also addressed the current talks over Iran's nuclear program and had strong words for Tehran.


She said that even if a deal is reached with Iran, Tehran's "aggressiveness will not end" and it will remain a principal state sponsor of terrorism.

Ms. Clinton said she hoped that "a strong verifiable deal" would be reached at talks in Vienna between world powers and Iran.

But she added that even with an agreement, "They will continue to be the principal state sponsor of terrorism. They will continue to destabilize governments in the region and beyond. They will continue to use their proxies like Hezbollah. And they will continue to be an existential threat to Israel."

The United States, other world powers and Iran have set a July 7 deadline to reach a deal to curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.

At the campaign event, Ms. Clinton also said the United States has to be "much smarter" about how it deals with Russian President Vladimir Putin's territorial ambitions.

She said Putin's moves to expand Russia's boundaries, such as the annexation of Crimea last year, posed a challenge for the United States but she touted her experience as America's chief diplomat.

She noted that because of NATO members' agreement to protect fellow members, had Ukraine been a member of NATO when Crimea was annexed, "that would have caused us to have to respond."

She added on Mr. Putin: "I've dealt with him. I know him. He's not an easy man ... But I don't think there is any substitute other than constant engagement."

 

[Hindustani78]

Updated: July 11, 2015 01:50 IST
22 million in US were affected by cyber-attack by hackers of Chinese origin - The Hindu

Hackers had purloined data on the financial and residency histories of government employees.
The damage caused by hackers, of Chinese origin, who stole Americans’ sensitive personal information from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, was much greater than initially estimated, officials said, adding that the number of those affected was around 22 million and not 4.2 million as earlier announced.

The higher estimate provided on Friday came even as OPM Director Katherine Archuleta was said to be “rejecting bipartisan calls for her resignation,” from Capitol Hill. Ms. Archeluta resigned later in the day.

Even some from among the Democratic Party, such as Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, hit out at Ms. Archuleta for a “slow and uneven response” that he said had undermined confidence in her abilities.

Two separate incidents

In two separate incidents suspected to have been carried out by the same party, the OPM said that the hackers had purloined data on the criminal, financial, health, employment and residency histories from 19.7 million people who had been subjected to a government background check, along with 1.8 million spouses and friends of those who were being checked.

The first incident that came to light last month was the loss of personnel data of 4.2 million federal employees that occurred in April 2015, including information on “full name, birth date, home address and Social Security Numbers.”

According to OPM officials, it was “highly likely” that anyone who went through a background investigation after 2000 was affected by the cyber breach, and those who underwent background checks before 2000 might be impacted too, although that was “less likely.”

As a precaution, the OPM website put out guidance for those who believed they were facing a risk of identity fraud following the breach, with advice on avoiding phishing scams, updating passwords, monitoring credit history and upgrading computer security.

In 2013, the U.S. named a shadowy military unit in China as the source of multiple hacking attacks on hundreds of organisations around the world, including in India and the U.S., after an “Advanced Persistent Threat” was allegedly traced to a nondescript white building in Shanghai only known as Unit 61398 of the People’s Liberation Army of China.

Following this, the Pentagon said in an annual report to the U.S. Congress that China was responsible for targeting U.S. and global computer systems for cyber “intrusions,” and in doing so had built up an arsenal of skills “similar to those necessary to conduct computer network attacks.”

However in a similar response to the one it issued at the time, Beijing dismissed this week’s claims on the OPM attack as “absurd logic.”