Hackers May Have Hit Every Federal Employee

We knew the recent federal hack was big, but a federal employees' union says it was much bigger than has been disclosed. In fact, it alleges that the hackers got sensitive information on every single federal employee and retiree, along with 1 million former federal workers, reports AP. The news service obtained a letter sent by the president of the American Federal of Government Employees to the Office of Personnel Management, the agency that got hacked. It alleges that the hackers, widely believed to be from China, got everybody's Social Security number along with other personal data.

"We believe that Social Security numbers were not encrypted, a cybersecurity failure that is absolutely indefensible and outrageous," writes J. David Cox in the letter. An OPM spokesperson would not confirm the union's allegations. The government, meanwhile, is paying a private company $21 million to notify those affected by the hack and help set up data protections for them, reports the Washington Post. (More hacking stories.)