USPS Hacked: China Top Suspect In Hacking Of Postal Service Information
The United States Postal Service (USPS) was recently hacked. Private information on over 800,000 workers, including the postmaster general, was accessed by the hackers. Names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and addresses as well as other information about USPS workers comprised the stolen data.
According to USA Today, the USPS told Congress during classified briefings about being hacked on October 22 and November 7. Some USPS computers were hacked. David Partenheimer, the media relations manager for the USPS spoke on behalf of the organization in the press release issued Monday.
The intrusion is limited in scope and all operations of the Postal Service are functioning normally.”
Customer information for those who called into the Customer Care line could also be hacked, however usps.com was not included in the leaked information. Customer Care users’ names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers were part of the attack, but not social security numbers. USPS believes that these customers do not need to take action.
Edward Ferrara, an analyst with the technology research company Forrester, told USA Today that this could lead to future attacks.
If a relatively high-level employee at the post office starts sending out phishing attacks from a.gov address, it’s a possible stepping-stone for attacks to get information of more value elsewhere.”
The Washington Post reported that Chinese government hackers are at the top of the suspect list. Though the report cannot be confirmed, the Post says that the FBI is leading the investigation. China has been tied to other information invasions, including the Office of Personnel Management and USIS, a government contractor that checks security clearance.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe was further quoted by the WashingtonPost regarding the hacked information.
It is an unfortunate fact of life these days that every organization connected to the Internet is a constant target for cyber intrusion activity. The United States Postal Service is no different. Fortunately, we have seen no evidence of malicious use of the compromised data and we are taking steps to help our employees protect against any potential misuse of their data.”
Partenheimer also added that the USPS did not reveal the information on the hacks until now for more security measures. The USPS also admitted to not taking steps to repair the breach until this past weekend.
Acting too quickly could have caused more data to be compromised.”
The news of hacked USPS information comes only a couple weeks after Russian hackers were suspected to breach unclassified White House computers, as covered by the Inquisitr. Being the target for hackers does not come as a surprise for officials and offices at top government levels. However, it is not currently clear why USPS employees were targeted in this attack.
[Photo Source: New York Post]
