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      NY Times: Chinese Hackers Searched for Data on US Government Workers

   by VOA News

   A report in The New York Times Thursday says the newspaper has learned
   from U.S. government officials that Chinese computer hackers attempted
   to gain access to the personnel files of tens of thousands of federal
   employees who have applied for top secret security clearances.

   The report says the hackers gained access back in March to some of the
   databases of the Office of Personnel Management, the agency that
   oversees the federal workforce. The unnamed officials say authorities
   detected the threat and blocked it from the OPM's computer network.

   The Times says it is not yet clear how far the hackers had penetrated
   the agency's systems, where applicants for security clearances list
   personal information such as foreign contacts and past drug use.

   An official with the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the
   attack had occurred, but said neither OPM nor Homeland Security had
   "identified any loss of personally identifiable information."

   U.S. prosecutors last month indicted a group of Chinese hackers working
   for a unit of the People's Liberation Army and charged them with
   stealing corporate secrets. The same unit has been accused in the past
   of intrusions into U.S. government computer systems, including the
   office of the Defense Secretary.

   Computer intrusions have been a major source of contention between the
   United States and China. Evidence revealed by Edward Snowden, the
   former contractor for the National Security Agency, shows the NSA ran
   programs to intercept the conversations of Chinese leaders and the
   military.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/ny-times-chinese-hackers-searched-dat
   a-us-government-workers/1954504.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/ny-times-chinese-hackers-searched-data-us-government-workers/1954504.html