Washington--The hacking of millions of US government employees is likely part of an effort by Chinese intelligence for long-term profiling -- and possibly more nefarious things.
Security analysts say considerable evidence points to China, and that the cyber-intrusion shows the long and patient efforts in Beijing to collect and compile data which may be useful in the future.
"It's normal for big intelligence agencies to create large biographic databases on their opponents," said James Lewis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Lewis said that while data on individuals may not seem significant on the surface, analysis of huge amounts of information can provide a strategic advantage.
"They get the same kinds of big data insights that companies use for targeted advertising," he told AFP.
Reports last week indicated some four million current or former government employees were hit, but a union letter said many more -- every federal employee, every federal retiree, and up to one million former federal employees -- could also have had personal data compromised.
These types of cyberattacks are troublesome because they involve stealth access that allows intruders to remain on computer networks for long periods of time, analysts say.
"It's the difference between a 'smash-and-grab' and a long-term persistent" operation, said Ryan Kazanciyan, chief security architect at Tanium, a California-based security firm.
"If you think about what you can do from the perspective of espionage instead of fraud, that data is incredibly valuable," Kazanciyan told AFP.
"If you want to target someone, this data can be used to conduct spearphishing, it can be used for blackmail."
Potentially, Kazanciyan said the database can be used to help determine the identities and locations of US undercover agents.
AFP
