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What's At Stake For The Millions Exposed In China-Linked Data Breach?

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Two-step authentication may have helped prevent  the Office of Personnel Management data breach in June. (Ben Watkin/Flickr)
Two-step authentication may have helped prevent the Office of Personnel Management data breach in June. (Ben Watkin/Flickr)

U.S. officials announced Thursday what may be one of the largest breaches of federal U.S. employees. Held by the Office of Personnel Management, information about 4 million current and former workers was stolen, including social security numbers.

Anonymous U.S. officials told several news outlets that authorities believe the attack came from hackers in China." This comes just before two big diplomatic meetings with Chinese officials, one being a September summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson speaks with cyber security expect Jim Lewis for a look at the possible motive of the hackers and what it means, both for those who were hacked and on a geopolitical scale.

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This segment aired on June 5, 2015.

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