The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Thursday (4) that, in April, data from the Personal Management Agency and Interior Department have been compromised.
"The FBI is conducting an investigation to identify how and why this happened," says the statement.
The Personal Management Agency is the human resources department of the federal government, and conducts check information for security reasons. According to its own website, the agency conducts more than 90% of federal checks.
The "Washington Post" newspaper, which cited as the official source of the Agency of undisclosed identities, attributes the attack to Chinese hackers. The newspaper says that this is the second major invasion of the federal agency network by Chinese in less than a year.
In its official statement, the agency says it will send notifications to about 4 million employees potentially affected in the period 8-19 June and gives some instructions on how they can monitor their information, and a number of precautions that these people should take to avoid becoming victims of fraud.
To reduce risk, employees will be entitled to use for free for the next 18 months, the services of a company specializing in protection against identity theft and fraud solution. "The full membership of 18 months includes access to credit reports, credit monitoring, identity theft insurance, and the recovery services and is available immediately at no cost to affected individuals identified by the Agency," he says text published on the agency's website.
