Cybersecurity

White House Weighs Responses as Scope of Federal Hack Widens

Already considered one of the largest thefts of U.S. government personnel data in history, investigators now estimate that it may include data on as many as 14 million people.

Photographer: Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images
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More federal personnel records have been hacked than previously reported and U.S. officials are weighing responses ranging from new counterintelligence initiatives to destroying the data in the intruders’ servers, according to people briefed on the investigation.

Already considered one of the largest thefts of U.S. government personnel data in history, investigators now estimate that it may include data on as many as 14 million people, more than triple the 4 million current and former government employees reported by the Office of Personnel Management last week, according to one lawmaker who asked not to be identified when discussing the investigation.