U.S. Intelligence Fears That After Government Data On Employees Were Stolen, China Will Be Able To Identify Spies

A map of China is seen through a magnifying glass on a computer screen. (Edgar Su/Reuters)

New York Times: U.S. Fears Data Stolen by Chinese Hacker Could Identify Spies

WASHINGTON — American officials are concerned that the Chinese government could use the stolen records of millions of federal workers and contractors to piece together the identities of intelligence officers secretly posted in China over the years.

The potential exposure of the intelligence officers could prevent a large cadre of American spies from ever being posted abroad again, current and former intelligence officials said. It would be a significant setback for intelligence agencies already concerned that a recent data breach at the Office of Personnel Management is a major windfall for Chinese espionage efforts.

In the days after the breach of records of millions of federal workers and contractors became public last month, some officials in the Obama administration said that the theft was not as damaging as it might have been because the Chinese hackers did not gain access to the identities of American undercover spies.

WNU Editor: The U.S. intelligence community always knew that confidential data on their employees was susceptible to being taken by foreign hackers .... Spies Warned Feds About OPM Mega-Hack Danger (Daily Beast) .... but their warnings and concerns were not heeded. The next question that needs to be answered is .... why? On another (bizarre) note .... U.S. decides against publicly blaming China for data hack (Washington Post)