Hack of US Data May Have Hit 18 Million Social Security Numbers

Apparently, Obama Administration officials avoided immediately disclosing the severity of the government employee data hack by defining it as two distinct breaches, in an incident that underscores the tensions within the government over what officials have described as one of the worst breaches of US data. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation suspect China was behind the hack of Office of Personnel Management databases, and those hackers accessed not only personnel files but security clearance forms, which contain information that foreign intelligence agencies could use to target espionage operations, according to officials. Chinese officials have said they weren’t involved.

The administration disclosed the breach of personnel files on June 4 but not the security clearance theft. The security theft was disclosed a week later, but investigators probing the theft already knew about it. OPM Director Katherine Archuleta on June 24 said her agency is investigating whether up to 18 million unique Social Security numbers were stolen as part of the cyberattack, though she cautioned that the numbers were unverified and preliminary. Her statement was made during testimony to the House Oversight Committee. Lawmakers have accused OPM of not providing enough information about a breach -- or perhaps series of breaches -- hitting OPM in recent months and stealing troves of personnel records. Director Archuleta said she believes 4.2 million personnel records of current and former government employees were stolen as part of one breach, but she said the estimates were much less precise on the hack of background check investigations that took place over a number of years.