Posted on 06/12/2015 8:18:27 PM PDT by kristinn
Hackers have breached a database containing a wealth of sensitive information from federal employees’ security background checks, the Obama administration said Friday — news that experts say could deal a devastating blow to U.S. intelligence gathering.
The revelations came just a week after officials disclosed a previous massive cyber intrusion into the same federal personnel office, compromising records of more than 4 million current and past employees in a breach that administration officials have privately blamed on Chinese hackers.
The stolen records in the hack disclosed Friday included data on intelligence and military personnel, The Associated Press reported. A senior administration official would not confirm that information but confirmed that the breach occurred at the Office of Personnel Management.
The hackers are believed to have obtained data from a security intake form known as a Standard Form-86, which includes details such as financial trouble, past convictions, drug use and close relationships with citizens of other countries. The form is used for background checks of current, former and prospective federal employees.
“This is crown jewels material … a gold mine for a foreign intelligence service,” said Joel Brenner, a former NSA senior counsel.
The SF-86 breach could have dire consequences for U.S. intelligence gathering, former officials said, noting that it would make it extremely difficult for anyone inside the database to ever work in a covert capacity. For example, that would include someone employed by the State or Agriculture departments who gathers intelligence for the Defense Intelligence Agency. “This is not the end of American human intelligence, but it’s a significant blow,” Brenner said.
As of October, 4.5 million Americans were cleared for access to classified information, including approximately a million contractors.
And because the SF-86s are stored in an indexed database, that database could also be combed for secrets, said Robert Caruso, a former Navy special security officer who has worked in security at the State and Defense departments. For example, Chinese agents could search the database for instances when agents with NSA covers were in the same place at the same time and make reasonable deductions about what they were doing there.
Brenner and Caruso both said it’s likely that clearance forms from the Defense Department and its related intelligence agencies, including NSA and the Defense Intelligence Agency, could be accessed through OPM. It’s much less likely that CIA employee clearance information was accessed that way because the CIA has traditionally insisted on managing its own personnel information.
“CIA refuses to put its people’s information in with OPM, and of course they’re right,” Brenner said. One lesson to draw from the breach, he said, is that “any serious clandestine agency has to be in charge of its own personnel information. Full stop.”
Investigators became aware of this second breach of the OPM’s systems as they pursued a previously disclosed breach into an unencrypted system holding personnel files of as many as 4.2 million current and past federal employees. That information included Social Security numbers, as well as names, addresses, pay grades, personnel actions and pension, insurance and health plan details.
The administration official said the relevant federal agencies received notification of the latest hack on Monday. “We expect OPM will conduct additional notifications as necessary,” the official said in a statement.
SNIP
He is ...
Almost like giving ISIS military equipment?
There’s so many strange coincidences surrounding him, huh?
Gov mandated “Electronic Health Records”
http://www.cchfreedom.org/cchf.php/928#.VXpI_3pRGtU
...what could possibly go wrong?
Some radio guys will make a lot on their Lifelock ads.
The rest of us will get to suck it up and eat whatever Congressclowns dish out to us.
OMB : Managing Government Records Directive
Federal agencies shall work toward two central goals.
Goal 1: Require Electronic Recordkeeping to Ensure Transparency, Efficiency, and Accountability.
Goal 2: Demonstrate Compliance with Federal Records Management Statutes and Regulations.
By December 31 , 2013 , the SAO shall ensure permanent records that have been in existence for more than 30 years are identified for transfer and reported to NARA.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3168970/posts
LOL
But, did they find Kerry’s SF-180 form?
Just like the two escaped convicts, I’m thinking inside job.
How do we know this is real?
It sure makes us want to rally behind our government vs. those evil Chinese, huh?
Right after we got a little uppity about the Patriot Act.
Funny timing, huh? Oh, just fit me for a tinfoil hat...
I heard the AFGE is asking for lifetime credit monitoring and full liability insurance, instead of the currently offered $1 million, for all of its 670,000 union members. We are talking trillions of dollars of liability insurance here.
Active Duty ping.
Who Hired Craig Livingstone?
Marker
Well now they got my info. But it won’t do them much good. I’d almost welcome a bullet to the head with the current traitors in office...
Agreed. What kind of mickey mouse operation is he running?
He doesnt even bother covering anything up anymore.
It’s the Illinois way. If they don’t get what they want, they inflict as much pain as possible on the voters to piss them off. They don’t care how many people are hurt. It’s just a means to an end.
Sounding more and more like a Brennan operation. Anyone been shot in the head yet?
A fish rots from the head down.
And how many foreign government and private hackers have all of Hillary’s emails?
On the plus side, maybe if the records are truly public, we can find out what 0vomit is using to blackmail Boehner, John Roberts, etc.
Here's the AP dutifully covering up and minimizing for Zero. Actually, they have info on ANYBODY who has or had a security clearance since 1985 (except possibly the CIA as explained further down in the article).
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