Following IRS Hack, Another Federal Agency is Breached — About 4 million Records Affected

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management — think your company’s HR department, only much, much bigger — reported the online records of about 4 million federal employees were compromised in April.

The FBI and the Office of Homeland Security are investigating the intrusion and officials speaking to the Wall Street Journal say it originated from China — the second time the OPM’s been hacked by individuals from the country.

The hack, which according to law enforcement officials was discovered at the beginning of May, follows another on the Internal Revenue Service that led to the theft of 100,000 taxpayers and the payout of $50 million in tax refunds.

Though the IRS attack was traced to Russia, the inspector general warned the agency about its deficiencies when it came to internet security.

Via The Wall Street Journal, Cnet.Photo by Eric E Johnson/flickr.