Estimate of Americans Hit by Government Personnel Data Hack Skyrockets
Data breaches at the U.S. government’s personnel management agency by hackers, with suspicions centering on China, involved millions more people than previously estimated, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said the stolen data 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 U.S. population.
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