Security clearance and background checks dating back to 1985 might have been exposed in the recent breach of federal workers’ information, Reuters reported on Friday.
“This is deep,” an unnamed U.S. official told the news outlet. “This means that they potentially have information about retirees, and they could know what they did after leaving government.”
{mosads}The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Thursday revealed that hackers had made off with information on 4 million current and former employees.
It’s thought to be the largest breach ever of federal workers’ data. The government employs roughly 2.7 million people.
The OPM is responsible for maintaining employment records across the government, meaning every agency could be affected by the breach.
It’s believed that hackers based in China were going after the information as part of a broader digital espionage campaign to infiltrate and possibly impersonate high-ranking U.S. officials.
The OPM hack, said the official, “could give them a huge advantage.”