The massive breaches of US government records resulted in the theft
of some 5.6 million sets of fingerprints, officials said on Wednesday,
raising their estimate from 1.1 million.
Officials said the latest
analysis of the two breaches - widely attributed to hackers based in
China - did not change the number of people affected, which remained at
21.5 million.
A statement by the Office of Personnel Management
said the new estimates come from a more detailed analysis of the breach
by investigators.
The statement said that "the ability to misuse
fingerprint data is limited" but that "this probability could change as
technology evolves."
The
new estimates come as Chinese President Xi Jinping opened a US visit
pledging to defend cybersecurity and not tolerate hacking or cyber
theft.
US officials have not publicly accused China of being
behind the massive hack, but many private analysts say the incident is
likely part of Chinese espionage efforts.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
US says 5.6 million fingerprints stolen
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