Millions of US government workers’ personal data might have been stolen by hackers, the government agency in charge of the data said Thursday.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said it detected a “cyberintrusion” in April into its information technology systems and data. The hack was detected after the agency began updating its cybersecurity and predated the tougher security controls, the OPM said.
“As a result of the incident, OPM will send notifications to approximately 4 million individuals whose [personally identifiable information] may have been compromised,” OPM said.
The statement did not say who was suspected of carrying out the attack.
The Washington Post reported that Chinese hackers were responsible. An OPM spokeswoman told dpa the agency had no comment on the report.
The sensitive personal data could be used to commit identity theft and other fraud, including opening credit accounts.
The FBI and the Homeland Security Department’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team are investigating.
OPM is telling affected individuals to monitor their financial accounts, request credit reports and ensure they have not been a victim of identity theft.
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