WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – China-linked hackers appear to have gained access to sensitive background information submitted by U.S. intelligence and military personnel for security clearances that could potentially expose them to blackmail, the Associated Press reported yesterday.
In a report citing several U.S. officials, the news agency said data on nearly all of the millions of U.S. security-clearance holders, including the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and military special operations personnel, were potentially exposed in the attack on the Office of Personnel Management.
It said more than 2.9 million people had been investigated for a security clearance as of October 2014.
The OPM did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but a senior U.S. official confirmed that U.S. investigators had discovered a separate attack on the OPM that targeted sensitive information about government employees similar to a hacking incident revealed last week.
