Massive US Federal Employee Hack Six Times Larger Than Original Estimate

While investigators initially believed the hack into the US Office of Personnel Management affected over 4 million people, that number has now increased exorbitantly. Now that the damage assessment is complete, the agency believes more than 25 million people had personal data stolen.

With security experts calling it one of the largest data breaches in history, hackers have obtained personal information on over 25 million individuals through US government security clearance forms.

Investigators say that 19.7 million of those affected were those who had filed security clearance forms within the last year. 4.2 million were current and former government employees, while 2 million were relatives whose information was listed on the forms.

"It’s a huge deal," FBI Director James Comey told a Senate panel on Wednesday.

While federal authorities have accused the Chinese government of being behind the attacks, these claims have been vehemently denied by Beijing.