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Chinese government has arrested hackers it says breached OPM database
[WASHINGTONPOST] The Chinese government recently tossed in the calaboose... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... a handful of hackers it says were connected to the breach of Office of Personnel Management's database earlier this year, a mammoth break-in that exposed the records of more than 22 million current and former federal employees. The arrests took place shortly before a state visit in late September by President Xi Jinping, and U.S. officials say they appear to have been carried out in an effort to lessen tensions with Washington. The identities of the suspects -- and whether they have any connection to the Chinese government -- remain unclear. Hacks of government and corporate data emanating from China have been a constant source of tension between the United States and China. This week, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson are meeting with senior Chinese officials to try to establish guidelines for working together on law enforcement requests to investigate cyberattacks. The OPM hack -- which came in two waves -- was also on the agenda. If the individuals detained were indeed the hackers, the arrests would mark the first measure of accountability for what has been characterized as one of the most devastating breaches of U.S. government data in history. But officials said it has been difficult so far to independently confirm whether the people rounded up were actually connected to the OPM breach. "We don't know that if the arrests the Chinese purported to have made are the guilty parties," said one U.S. official, who like others interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity. "There is a history [in China] of people being arrested for things they didn't do or other 'crimes against the state.' " Since the intrusions were first disclosed in June, U.S. government officials said they have suspected the Chinese government's involvement, in particular the civilian Ministry of State Security. Posted by: Fred 2015-12-03 |
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