US: More than 21 million affected by government data breach

July 10, 2015 08:37

Hackers stole Social Security identification numbers and other highly sensitive data from more than 21 million people, the Obama administration has said, acknowledging that the breach of US government computer systems was far more severe than previously disclosed.

The scope of the data breach, believed to be the biggest in US history, has grown dramatically since the government first said earlier this year that hackers had gotten into the Office of Personnel Management's personnel database and stolen records for about 4.2 million people.

Since then, the administration has acknowledged a second, related breach of the systems housing private data that individuals submit during background investigations to obtain security clearances.

That second attack affected more than 19 million people who applied for clearances, as well as nearly 2 million of their spouses, housemates and others who never applied for security clearances, the administration said. Among the data the hackers stole: criminal, financial, health, employment and residency histories, as well as information about their families and acquaintances.

The new revelations drew indignation from members of Congress who have said the administration has not done enough to protect personal data in their systems, as well as calls for OPM Director Katherine Archuleta and her top deputies to resign.

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