Chinese hackers access sensitive US intelligence data

A group of hackers with suspected links to China have reportedly accessed sensitive data on US intelligence and military personnel.

Details of a major hack emerged last week, but US officials have now leaked details of a potential second breach of data.

US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press news agency said that the hackers probably targeted the forms submitted by intelligence and military personnel for security clearances.

The officials said that as many as 14 million people have potentially been affected by the hack, much higher than the initial estimates that four million people might be involved.

The document includes personal information – such as eye colour, financial history, past substance abuse, and contact details for the individual's friends and relatives. It is therefore feared that the hack could leave US security personnel and their families open to blackmail.

The US agency involved- the Office of Personnel Management, has yet to comment on the latest reports.

The White House said in a statement that investigators had a "high degree of confidence" that background information on government employees had been accessed.

Former US counterintelligence official Joel Benner described the data a "gold mine" for hackers.

The US has said that the hackers, believed to be behind both recent attacks, are probably based in China. However, Beijing has dismissed the claims as "irresponsible".

Meanwhile, the White House announced further plans to beef up security on Friday.

"Recent events underscore the need to accelerate the administration's cyber strategy and confront aggressive, persistent malicious actors that continue to target our nation's cyber infrastructure," a White House statement said.