Has the U.S. Just Suffered a ‘Cyber Pearl Harbor’ at China’s Hands?

Has the U.S. Just Suffered a ‘Cyber Pearl Harbor’ at China’s Hands? (Source thetrumpet.com)

Hackers stole the personal data of about 14 million current and former United States government employees in a cyberattack believed to have launched from China. “This is the most significant breach of federal networks in U.S. history,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said on June 7. China denies any involvement in the attack. “In my judgment, this was an attack by China against the United States government,” McCaul said. “It quantifies to espionage, and that raises all sorts of issues that we need to deal with.” McCaul added that the “threat indicators” suggest that it was China, “and perhaps nation-state sponsored.” Experts are calling this security breach “potentially devastating,” with one even asking, “What if Pearl Harbor happened and nobody noticed?” The information stolen in the federal personnel records give hackers a wide avenue to intimidation, blackmail and identity theft. But that’s not the worst part of it. The specific data stolen also include information about drug and alcohol problems, arrests, bankruptcies, Social Security numbers, and sensitive information regarding spouses, relatives and friends. Possessing this kind of data gives hackers great power over 14 million government workers, past and present.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *