OPM Cyber Security Breach Source Still Not Found

May 16, 2016

The federal government has still not found the source of the major OPM breach that revealed the data of over 20 million federal workers last year. The officials have hinted that the attack might have originated from China but have failed to prove that. The officials are still not sure on whether the highly sensitive case would be closed anytime soon as they have failed to provide a specific timeline.

Why the Source of OPM Breach is still not Pin Pointed?

When Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) spoke of the matter during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on U.S.-China relations, the officials were unclear on the points made by them. Antony Blinken, who serves as the Deputy Secretary of State stated that the source of OPM breach hasn’t been identified yet because finding the exact source of the intrusion is an on-going effort.

Is China the Source of the Breach?

Many media sources have pointed out that the government officials have privately admitted that China was behind the attack. They even hinted the same in the public but have offered no proof of any of it so far.

The Pending Acknowledgement

Senator Perdue also wanted to find out whether the attacks were acknowledged by the Chinese government as a part of the cyber deal that was concluded last September. The deal was signed by President Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The deal was done to ensure that there was a complete eradication of digital espionage for commercial gain. It also aimed at ensuring that the two countries cooperate in a better manner on the cyber issues because cyber issues have been an irritant between China and the U.S. relations in the last few years.

Blinken responded that he is not recalling anything that resembles an acknowledgement of the attack in the deal. He added that the U.S. made it clear that some major cyber actions like the breach on the OPM would not be ignored by the country.

The Report

When Perdue asked Blinken about a timeline by which a definitive report on what happened with the OPM would be submitted, the federal representative was unable to provide any specific timeline. It seems that the federal government still has a long way to go before they actually find the source of the attack and punish the ones responsible for the one of the major cyber attacks that happened in the U.S.