governmentpersonnel office and stole vital information of at least 4 millionfederal workers, American officials said Thursday.
TheFBIis conducting an investigation to identify how and why this occurred, the statement said.
According the Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican senator, the hackers are based in China.
The hackers apparently used azero-day vulnerabilityin thefederal computer system, according to the Washington Post.
Though US based sources blamed China for this hack attack, China has denied any hand in the hacking.
TheChinese Embassyin Washington said Thursday night that jumping to conclusions was not responsible, and counterproductive.
He added that, Jumping to conclusions and making hypothetical accusation is not responsible, and counterproductive.
In April, a Pentagon report said hackers associated with theChinese governmentrepeatedly targetedU.S.
military networkslast yearseeking intelligence.
According to Washington Post, the Office of Personnel Management discovered the breach in April 2015.
A U.S. official who declined to be identified said thedata breachcould potentially affect everyfederal agency and its employees.
AFGE will demand accountability,American Federation of Government EmployeesPresident J. David Cox Sr. said in a statement.
source: www.techworm.net