The OPM attack was uncovered in April this year and saw attackers make off with ID and security clearance information about United States government staff. Social security numbers, names, addresses, health, financial and biometric data were all taken.
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According to President Barack Obama, cybersecurity will be among the major topics in his discussions with Xi on September 25 at the White House. The USA government will continue to evaluate the coverage being provided and whether any adjustments are needed in association with this incident.
Mr Xi and President Obama are due to talk about cybersecurity when they meet later this week.
The U.S. said no evidence has surfaced yet suggesting the stolen data has been abused, though they fear the theft could present counter-intelligence problems.
Government officials originally estimated that 1.1 million people’s fingerprints were compromised, but now the agency says the number is greater – over five times greater, to be exact. This does not increase the overall estimate of 21.5 million individuals impacted by the incident.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the investigation into the data breach, which affected the records of some 21.5 million federal workers, was continuing and he did not “have any conclusions to share publicly about who may or may not have been responsible”.
Hackers who stole security clearance data on millions of federal employees under the Department of Defense and other agencies were able to obtain a total of 5.6 million fingerprint records. However, it acknowledged that the risk could rise as technology improved and fingerprints were increasingly used as a guarantee of identity.
It’s important to note that the inter-agency working group that has expertise in the area are now analyzing the potential threats of misusing the fingerprint data. “The original cyber strategy at the Office of Personnel Management was primarily focused on protecting the perimeter”. Member of the group include Department of Homeland Security, FBI and the Pentagon.
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The additional fingerprint data was found to be exposed during the OPM’s and the Department of Defense’s review of the theft of background investigation records, according to an OPM statement. If, in the future, new means are developed to misuse the fingerprint data, the government will provide additional information to individuals whose fingerprints may have been stolen in this breach.
