Politics

Massive Data Breach Could Affect Every Federal Agency

Published

11 years ago

June 5, 2015

This Feb. 24, 2015, file photo, shows the Homeland Security Department headquarters in northwest Washington. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Thursday, June 4, 2015, that data from the Office of Personnel Management and the Interior Department had been hacked. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

KEN DILANIAN, Associated Press
RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — China-based hackers are suspected once again of breaking into U.S. government computer networks, and the entire federal workforce could be at risk this time.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that data from the Office of Personnel Management — the human resources department for the federal government — and the Interior Department had been compromised.

“The FBI is conducting an investigation to identify how and why this occurred,” the statement Thursday said.

The hackers were believed to be based in China, said Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican.

Collins, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the breach was “yet another indication of a foreign power probing successfully and focusing on what appears to be data that would identify people with security clearances.”

But in Beijing Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry dismissed the allegations.

A spokesman for the ministry, Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing that Beijing hopes the U.S. would be “less suspicious and stop making any unverified allegations, but show more trust and participate more in cooperation.”

Beijing routinely dismisses any allegation of its official involvement in cyberattacks on foreign targets, while invariably noting that China is itself the target of hacking attacks and calling for greater international cooperation in combating hacking.

“We know that hacker attacks are conducted anonymously, across nations, and that it is hard to track the source,” Hong said. “It’s irresponsible and unscientific to make conjectural, trumped-up allegations without deep investigation.”

A U.S. official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the data breach, said the breach could potentially affect every federal agency. One key question is whether intelligence agency employee information was stolen. Former government employees are affected as well.

The Office of Personnel Management conducts more than 90 percent of federal background investigations, according to its website.

The agency said it is offering credit monitoring and identity theft insurance for 18 months to individuals potentially affected. The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents workers in 31 federal agencies, said it is encouraging members to sign up for the monitoring as soon as possible.

In November, a former DHS contractor disclosed another cyberbreach that compromised the private files of more than 25,000 DHS workers and thousands of other federal employees.

Cybersecurity experts also noted that the OPM was targeted a year ago in a cyberattack that was suspected of originating in China. In that case, authorities reported no personal information was stolen.

Chinese groups have persistently attacked U.S. agencies and companies, including insurers and health-care providers, said Adam Meyers, vice president for intelligence at Irvine, California-based CrowdStrike, which has studied Chinese hacking groups extensively.

The Chinese groups may be looking for information that can be used to approach or compromise people who could provide useful intelligence, Meyers said. “If they know someone has a large financial debt, or a relative with a health condition, or any other avenues that make them susceptible to monetary targeting or coercion, that information would be useful.”

One expert said hackers could use information from government personnel files for financial gain. In a recent case disclosed by the IRS, hackers appear to have obtained tax return information by posing as taxpayers, using personal information gleaned from previous commercial breaches, said Rick Holland, an information security analyst at Forrester Research.

“Given what OPM does around security clearances, and the level of detail they acquire when doing these investigations, both on the subjects of the investigations and their contacts and references, it would be a vast amount of information,” Holland added.

DHS said its intrusion detection system, known as EINSTEIN, which screens federal Internet traffic to identify potential cyberthreats, identified the hack of OPM’s systems and the Interior Department’s data center, which is shared by other federal agencies.

It was unclear why the EINSTEIN system didn’t detect the breach until after so many records had been copied and removed.

“DHS is continuing to monitor federal networks for any suspicious activity and is working aggressively with the affected agencies to conduct investigative analysis to assess the extent of this alleged intrusion,” the statement said.

Cybersecurity expert Morgan Wright of the Center for Digital Government, an advisory institute, said EINSTEIN “certainly appears to be a failure at this point. The government would be better off outsourcing their security to the private sector where’s there at least some accountability.”

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., said the government must overhaul its cybersecurity defenses. “Our response to these attacks can no longer simply be notifying people after their personal information has been stolen,” he said. “We must start to prevent these breaches in the first place.”

___

Associated Press writers Donna Cassata, Alicia A. Caldwell and Kevin Freking in Washington, Brandon Bailey in San Francisco and Ian Mader in Beijing contributed to this report.

___

Follow Ken Dilanian on Twitter at https://twitter.com/KenDilanianAP

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Books

Oakland Mayor Reads to Children at Bookout Block Party at Marcus Books Store

Booths lined the street with arts and crafts, and children participated in hands-on art projects. A large display of books was on display and each child chose his/her free book to take home. Food and snacks were available, and free water was encouraged to keep all hydrated.

Published

4 hours ago

September 22, 2026

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(L.to R.) Cherysse Calhoun and Blanche Richardson of Marcus Books join Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee with Indya McGuffin and Bean Tupou of Storyland Collective inside the store on Sept. 12. Courtesy photo.

By Barbara Bauer, Special to The Post

Floating bubbles greeted families on arrival at the Bookout Block Party held on Sat. Sept. 12 at 39th and MLK Blvd. in Oakland.

Sponsored by Marcus Books and Storyland Collective, a wonderland of activity for children stretched to Longfellow School while live music filled the air, courtesy of KWC Complex Jazz Group.

A large area of turf was filled with huge bean bags for jumping, rolling, and sitting to listen as families crowded close to listen to Oakland Mayor Barbara Mayor Barbara Lee read a book out loud.

Of the numerous booths present were, “Claim Your Scholarship,” a program for Oakland Public School students and “VOLUNTEER NOW,” a program encouraging volunteers to help boost reading proficiency. Individuals sold their art and products. Free gifts were at many tables and a raffle was held.

The event with Marcus books culminated a summer-long program organized by Storyland Collective, a literacy arts organization bringing children’s ‘storytime,’ local authors, and art activities to Bay Area neighborhoods. Marcus Books is the oldest, independent Black-owned book store in the U.S., featuring books by and about Black people here and abroad.

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Business

Attorney General Rob Bonta Continues Opposition to President Trump’s Tariff Regime

“President Trump is so intent on raising the cost of living for Americans that he is willing to break law after law to continue his tariff regime,” said Bonta.

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September 22, 2026

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Calif. Attorney General Rob Bonta. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as part of a coalition of 25 states, filed an amicus brief in the Court of International Trade in Learning Resources v. Trump, a case challenging President Trump’s latest “unlawful” attempt to tax the states and American consumers through illegal tariffs, according to a media release issued by the California Department of Justice.

In the brief, Bonta argues the latest round of tariffs levied under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 are pretextual and are not targeted to address the purported harms of forced labor, as that statute requires, but instead are designed to re-create the tariffs already declared illegal by various courts.

Last month, Bonta and the coalition filed a lawsuit challenging the administration’s decision to impose these tariffs on over 80 countries that together account for 99.4% of all U.S. imports — costs that will be passed along to Americans already struggling with affordability.

“President Trump is so intent on raising the cost of living for Americans that he is willing to break law after law to continue his tariff regime,” said Bonta.

“Imposing these tariffs under Section 301 has nothing to do with forced labor and everything to do with continuing the President’s failed economic policy and reimposing the global tariffs that the Supreme Court invalidated,” he continued.

“We urge the Court of International Trade to declare the president’s tariffs under Section 301 illegal. Tariffs are taxes, and the American people cannot and should not shoulder the extra costs that come from the president’s illegal tariffs.”

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Business

Oakland Launches Aerbits Program to Identify, Report Abandoned Trash

“Aerbits, which was approved by the Privacy Advisory Commission, uses modern technology and best practices to help our crews clear trash faster and more efficiently, while our targeted outreach and enforcement strategies address the root causes of dumping. Together, we are going to get the job done.”

Published

6 hours ago

September 21, 2026

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Aerbits founder Brian Johnson(left) and OaklandMayor Barbara Lee launch Aerbits in Oakland.

By Rebecca Kaplan Special to The Post

On Tuesday, the City of Oakland launched Aerbits, an innovative new program that deploys AI-assisted aerial imaging technology to proactively detect and report abandoned trash on streets and sidewalks – to support timely and effective removal of illegal dumping.

By shifting from a reactive, complaint-based system to data-driven proactive detection, the City can deploy cleanup resources faster, more efficiently, and more equitably to the areas in greatest need.

Approved by both the Privacy Advisory Commission and the Oakland City Council, Aerbits is the latest addition to Oakland’s comprehensive strategy to eliminate illegal dumping from the Town.

“Oakland residents and businesses deserve clean streets and today we are one step closer to a safer, cleaner, and greener Oakland,” said Mayor Barbara Lee. “Our strategy strengthens eradication, education, and enforcement efforts across every neighborhood.

The impacts of illegal dumping on Oakland are profound, disproportionately burdening historically disinvested communities while threatening public health, safety, and economic vitality.

The City is united in taking action to remedy it – with the mayor, Council, administration, Public Works Department, community groups and more coming together to make change.

In May, the City Council approved the Illegal Dumping Expenditures Action Plan, which approves and funds multiple actions – including Aerbits – to help remedy illegal dumping.

This past June, Oakland secured $9.2 million from the Crankstart Foundation to scale up operations like Aerbits and break the cycle of illegal dumping across Oakland.

The Aerbits aerial imaging system photographs public rights-of-way to pinpoint exact locations, estimate waste volumes, and classify types of debris. This enables City dispatchers to understand the problem and efficiently deploy the appropriate crew and equipment to each site.

Built with privacy at its core, the technology contains no facial recognition, no license plate readers, and uses no personally identifying information. Aerbits takes pictures of trash – not of people.

“I founded Aerbits because I saw a major gap in the data that was available to City crews on the streets, and I wanted our children to have a cleaner environment” said Aerbits Founder Brian Johnson.

“Aerbits enables cleanups to be timelier, more effective, and more equitable. By providing real-time comprehensive data, automating the creation of work orders, and improving closure of cleared tickets, we are removing the problems that occur when relying primarily on a complaint-based system,” he said.

Aerbits is the latest milestone in the series of actions the City is taking to implement the City Council-approved Illegal Dumping Expenditures Action Plan. Recent actions taken by the City include:

Stricter Enforcement: Enacted a new Illegal Dumping Enforcement Ordinance increasing penalties and holding vehicle owners responsible; hired additional Environmental Enforcement Officers equipped with updated citation technology; and worked alongside State Senator Jesse Arreguin on legislation that allows the City to boot vehicles tied to repeat dumping offences.
Community Resources: Reinstated the popular “Bulky Block Parties” offering residents free, convenient ways to get rid of bulky waste, alongside expanded public education campaigns.
Expanded Fleet Equipment: Obtained new heavy-duty Lightning Loader trucks that allow us to clean up more volumes of debris faster than ever before.

Rebecca Kaplan is a former City Councilmember-at-large for the City of Oakland.