






The bad news is that it is not over and the damage may not be reversible.  Not only was it discovered belatedly, but more of those malware particles are certainly buried inside communications and data bases serving OPM, waiting for a remote signal from the hackers’ command and control centers, which are believed to be working for China.

According to our experts, it is almost impossible to totally sanitize all the affected computers, servers, switches and other components. The only practical remedy would be for the OPM to totally segregate its computers from the public Internet and severely restrict and supervise data transfers into the system’s different segments. This device would act like highway roadblocks that allow police officers to inspect each individual vehicle.

According to the information published by cyber intelligence magazines, the hackers got away with copies of every Standard Form 86 filed by US intelligence and security personnel and passed it on to an unknown destination.

This form lists mental illnesses, drug and alcohol use, past arrests and bankruptcies. Applicants are required to list contacts and relatives, potentially exposing any foreign relatives of US intelligence employees to coercion. Both the applicant’s Social Security number and that of his or her cohabitant are required, as well as driver’s license, passport and phone numbers.

The hack made available to a foreign agency all the personal particulars including photos of every officer employed by US security agencies.

China is believed to possess the biggest data base in the world, larger even than the US National Security Agency. Its super computers are operated and maintained by thousands of staff around the clock, their data bases constantly supplemented by information hacked from every US institution, public or private.

Full article: The biggest heist of secret US personnel data in cyber history is still ongoing (DEBKAfile)

Comments are closed.