Report: Hackers Arrested By Chinese Government Suspected Of OPM Breach

Washington Post: Arrests made in late September were Chinese officials' way of easing tensions with U.S.

Hackers arrested by Chinese authorities in September are suspected of carrying out the massive data breach at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), according to a report at the Washington Post today.

The identities of those arrested still have not been released. The Post had previously reported the arrests, but believed they were in association with attacks on U.S. corporations, not with the OPM breach that exposed personal information of 14 million current and former federal employees.

According to the report: "The arrests took place shortly before a state visit in late September by [Chinese] President Xi Jinping, and U.S. officials say they appear to have been carried out in an effort to lessen tensions with Washington."

Shortly after the arrests, President Xi and President Obama agreed that neither China nor the U.S. would engage in cyber espionage against the other for economic gain.

This week, more official meetings on cybercrime are taking place in Washington between Chinese and American officials, including China's Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.

Read the full story at the Washington Post.

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