Hackers who breached US government databases stole personal information of 21.5 million people, officials said Thursday following an investigation into the attack.
The Office of Personnel Management says the government was increasingly confident that China’s government, and not criminal hackers, was responsible for the extraordinary theft of personal information.
An update from the government’s Office of Personnel Management said those affected were 19.7 million who underwent a background investigation, and 1.8 million others, mostly spouses or cohabitants of applicants for government jobs.
Hackers stole Social Security identification numbers and took other sensitive information last year when government computer systems were compromised.
The massive figure adds to the gravity of the breach, which prompted a series of hearings in Congress and widespread criticism of the state of US cyber-defenses.
Officials said last month 4.2 million personnel records were breached in a separate attack, but it was not immediately clear if there was any overlap in the two groups.