From: Breitbart
A report on the breach of OPM’s computers systems by the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT) says hackers did not have to work very hard to gain entry. The report also raises a worrisome new possibility about what hackers might have been doing during the months they had undetected access: adding false data to the systems even as they were stealing from it.
As previously reported, many of OPM’s outdated computer systems were operating without a valid security authorization. When the Inspector General recommended OPM shut down those systems last year, OPM refused. An expert quoted in the ICIT report says, “it appears as though this was the equivalent of a car thief politely asking for the car keys and once handed them drove the car for over a year before being noticed.”
The news media has focused on the massive theft of personal data on millions of government workers. The nation responsible (believed to be China) could use the data it stole to create a, “‘linkedin-esque’ database for their intelligence community.” ICIT estimates this database would have a 30-year useful shelf life.
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