Hack could impact local federal employees

FORT MYERS, Fla.- WINK News uncovered federal workers in Southwest Florida may have been affected in one of the worst cyber attacks we’ve ever seen.

A new report suggests hackers stole personal information from every federal worker in the United States.

Names, Social Security numbers, phone numbers and addresses were all hacked. Investigators believe the Chinese were responsible for the hack.

“Life altering. Just like being held up at gunpoint,” said local computer expert Shaun Book with Area 51 PC.

Book says sometimes government networks could be less secure than a private sector network because the government often uses numerous contractors to manage it.

“When we are talking about the network itself, you are only as good as your layers of protection,” said Book.

A federal employee union says the hackers stole information from the Office of Personnel Management which conducts background checks for federal employees. There are even reports that hackers stole military records and insurance information from veterans.