(BGF) – The Associated Press (AP) has recently reported on a series of network breaches in which Chinese hackers attempted to access the personal information of thousands of employees (working in the US government Office of Personnel Management) applying for high-level clearance. This article notes that even though the attack occurred in March, the government had not made any sort of public announcement to that effect. The AP also commented that breaches had also occurred in industry, but despite the government’s stance of encouragement that private entities should let their consumers know of these attacks, coverage of this spate of Chinese hacking has remained largely unreported.
The article also brings to light the tensions highlighted by these cyber attacks. The US in a large capacity is certain that these breaches are instigated and supported by the Chinese government. But as China continues to deny any level of governmental involvement, they also refuse to meet about cyber protocol. As such, the US and China can only further investigate the issue until sufficient evidence is found to furnish proof of just who has been authoring such activities–only then can the governments move on to questions of motivation.
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Report: Chinese hackers hit US personnel networks
July 9, 2014
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese hackers broke into the computer networks of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management earlier this year with the intention of accessing the files of tens of thousands of federal employees who had applied for top-secret security clearances, according to The New York Times.
Senior U.S. officials say the hackers gained access to some of the agency’s databases in March before the threat was detected and blocked, the Times reported in an article posted on its website Wednesday night. How far the hackers penetrated the agency’s systems was not yet clear, the newspaper said.
Accusations of hacking by China and counterclaims of such activity by the U.S. government have strained U.S.-Chinese relations. Chinese hacking has been a major theme of U.S.-China discussions this week in Beijing, though both sides have publicly steered clear of the controversy.
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