Hillary Clinton accuses China of 'stealing US secrets'

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Hillary Clinton said that China had stolen "huge amounts" of government information
Hillary Clinton accuses China of 'stealing US secrets'
5 July 2015 From the section US & Canada
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33399711

  "US Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has accused China of
   stealing commercial secrets and government information.

   She accused China of "trying to hack into everything that doesn't move
   in America", and urged vigilance.

   US officials had named China as the chief suspect in the massive hack
   of the records of a US government agency earlier this year.

   China had denied any involvement, and called US claims "irresponsible".
   'Fully vigilant'

   Speaking at a campaign event in New Hampshire, Ms Clinton said that
   China was stealing secrets from defence contractors and had taken "huge
   amounts of government information, all looking for an advantage."

   She added that she wanted to see China's peaceful rise but that the US
   needed to stay "fully vigilant".

   "China's military is growing very quickly, they're establishing
   military installations that again threaten countries we have treaties
   with, like the Philippines because they are building on contested
   property," she said.
   The hacking of federal government computers may have compromised the
   records of four million people

   US officials have blamed China for a major data breach of the Office of
   Personnel Management (OPM) that was revealed in June.

   The hacking of federal government computers could have compromised the
   records of four million employees.

   US intelligence chief James Clapper called China a "leading suspect"
   after the incident.

   But China dismissed the accusation, saying that it was "irresponsible
   and unscientific".

   China has previously argued that it is also the victim of hacking
   attacks.

   Republican presidential candidates have used the recent OPM cyber hack
   to attack President Obama's administration, accusing it of
   "incompetence".

   Marco Rubio and Rick Perry have called for the US to threaten sanctions
   against organisations linked to hacking, while Mike Huckabee has argued
   that the US should "hack China back".

   Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Martin O'Malley has called for better
   funding for cyber security.

   The hack against the OPM is not the first time that China has been
   blamed for a cyber attack against the US.

   An earlier attempt to breach OPM networks was blocked in March 2014,
   with the US saying China was behind the attack.

   Previous hack attacks on US government

       * In November 2014 a hack compromised files belonging to 25,000
   employees of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as thousands
   of other federal workers
       * In March 2014 hackers breached OPM networks, targeting government
   staff with security clearance, but the attempt was blocked before any
   data was stolen. The intrusion was reportedly traced to China
       * In 2006, hackers believed to be based in China breached the
   system of a sensitive bureau in the US Department of Commerce. Hundreds
   of workstations had to be replaced"


http://www.newsweek.com/hillary-clinton-accuses-china-hacking-us-computers-350272
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/nthamerica/2015/07/05/clinton-says-china-stealing-us-govt-data.html
http://www.reuters.com/video/2015/07/05/clinton-accuses-china-of-hacking?videoId=364824013

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U.S.: Hack of 18 million Americans came from China 01:13
First on CNN: U.S. data hack may be 4 times larger than the government originally said
By Evan Perez and Shimon Prokupecz, CNN  Updated 0359 GMT (1059 HKT) June 24, 2015
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/22/politics/opm-hack-18-milliion/

  "Washington (CNN) The personal data of an estimated 18 million current,
   former and prospective federal employees were affected by a cyber
   breach at the Office of Personnel Management - more than four times the
   4.2 million the agency has publicly acknowledged. The number is
   expected to grow, according to U.S. officials briefed on the
   investigation.

   FBI Director James Comey gave the 18 million estimate in a closed-door
   briefing to Senators in recent weeks, using the OPM's own internal
   data, according to U.S. officials briefed on the matter. Those affected
   could include people who applied for government jobs, but never
   actually ended up working for the government.

   Can Washington keep your data secure?

   The same hackers who accessed OPM's data are believed to have last year
   breached an OPM contractor, KeyPoint Government Solutions, U.S.
   officials said. When the OPM breach was discovered in April,
   investigators found that KeyPoint security credentials were used to
   breach the OPM system.

   Some investigators believe that after that intrusion last year, OPM
   officials should have blocked all access from KeyPoint, and that doing
   so could have prevented more serious damage. But a person briefed on
   the investigation says OPM officials don't believe such a move would
   have made a difference. That's because the OPM breach is believed to
   have pre-dated the KeyPoint breach. Hackers are also believed to have
   built their own backdoor access to the OPM system, armed with
   high-level system administrator access to the system. One official
   called it the "keys to the kingdom." KeyPoint did not respond to CNN's
   request for comment.

   U.S. investigators believe the Chinese government is behind the cyber
   intrusion, which are considered the worst ever against the U.S.
   government.

   Why would China hack the U.S. government?

   OPM has so far stuck by the 4.2 million estimate, which is the number
   of people so far notified that their information was compromised. An
   agency spokesman said the investigation is ongoing and that it hasn't
   verified the larger number.

   The actual number of people affected is expected to grow, in part
   because hackers accessed a database storing government forms used for
   security clearances, known as SF86 questionnaires, which contain the
   private information of multiple family members and associates for each
   government official affected, these officials said.

   OPM officials are facing multiple congressional hearings this week on
   the hack and their response to it. There's growing frustration among
   lawmakers and government employees that the Obama administration's
   response has minimized the severity of breach.

   OPM's internal auditors told a House Oversight and Government Affairs
   Committee last week that key databases housing sensitive national
   security data, including applications for background checks, had not
   met federal security standards.

   "Not only was a large volume (11 out of 47 systems) of OPM's IT systems
   operating without a valid Authorization, but several of these systems
   are among the most critical and sensitive applications owned by the
   agency," Michael Esser, OPM's assistant inspector general for audits,
   wrote in testimony prepared for committee.

   Katherine Archuleta, who leads OPM, is beginning to face heat for her
   agency's failure to protect key national security data -- highly prized
   by foreign intelligence agencies -- as well as for how slowly the
   agency has provided information.

   Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., at a hearing last week told Archuleta: "I
   wish that you were as strenuous and hardworking at keeping information
   out of the hands of hacker as are at keeping information out of the
   hands of Congress."

   How the U.S. thinks Russians hacked the White House "


Office of Personnel Management data breach (2015) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Personnel_Management_data_breach