In March 2014, Chinese hackers infiltrated computer networks run by a US government agency called Office of Personal Management. It’s who was targeted is what makes this concerning.
The Office of Personal Management holds info on federal employees. These hackers targeted applicants for top-secret security clearances and their foreign contracts list, previous jobs and other aspects of personal information. The Dept. of Homeland Security confirmed the hacking. Officials traced the attacks to China, but it’s unclear whether the hackers were civilians or within the Chinese government. What’s crazier is to learn that hackers try to break into agencies almost daily, but rarely succeed. This time, apparently they did.
And this isn’t the first time. Last month, a Chinese group called People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398 were charged with corporate theft (of secrets and information). This group, and some others, have been accused of past infiltrations. The issue of hacking has been a hot button issue between the US and China. But what concerns me is the frequency of these attempts. One in a while is one thing, but every day is scary. We should be very grateful that these attacks are rarely successful. I’d like to see that turned into not successful at all. Keep in mind how fast China is advancing technologically. Is this what’s behind the attacks? Or is something way darker going on?