The Biggest Cyberattack Against the US in Recent History Just Keeps Getting Worse

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/hack-china-cyberwar-fingerprints-obama

By AJ Vicens
Mother Jones
Sep. 23, 2015

On the eve of Chinese President Xi Jinping's first state visit to 
Washington, DC, the Obama administration released alarming new numbers 
about one of the biggest computer hacks in American history—traceable, 
officials say, to China—a move that could potentially heighten tension 
ahead of the historic meeting.

The Office of Personnel Management announced that it had substantially 
underestimated the number of people whose fingerprints were stolen during 
the attack earlier this year. About 5.6 million of 21.5 million federal 
employees, contractors, applicants, and others had their fingerprints 
stolen during a hack of the OPM's background check databases, the agency 
reported Wednesday morning. That figure is higher than the 1.1 million 
previously reported.

An interagency group including the FBI, the Department of Homeland 
Security, and the Department of Defense are reviewing how the fingerprint 
information could be used in nefarious ways, but it downplayed the 
immediate impact. "Federal experts believe that, as of now, the ability to 
misuse fingerprint data is limited," the agency said in a statement issued 
Wednesday morning, as President Barack Obama and a host of dignitaries 
hosted Pope Francis at the White House. "However, this probability could 
change over time as technology evolves."

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