The U.S. Postal Service on Monday said it had been the target of a cyberattack that potentially has compromised the data of nearly 800,000 federal employees.
Information vulnerable in the attack includes personally identifiable data about employees, such as names, dates of birth, addresses, and Social Security numbers. In addition, similar personal information was stolen from customers who contacted USPS's Customer Care Center via phone or email between Jan. 1 and Aug. 16 of this year.
No customer payment-card data was subject to the attack, however, according to a USPS statement, which also noted that the FBI and other federal agencies are investigating the breach.
The intrusion is "limited in scope, and all operations of the Postal Service are functioning normally," Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said in the statement. The USPS said it did not believe "potentially affected customers need to take any action as a result of this incident."
USPS would not comment on the origins of the breach, citing the ongoing investigation. But The Washington Post reported that the hack was detected in mid-September and that Chinese authorities are suspected of being involved.
The disclosure of the hack comes as President Obama is in Beijing attending a summit of Asia-Pacific business leaders. In remarks delivered at the summit Monday, Obama alluded to U.S. concerns about China's cyberhacking activities.
"We look to China to become an innovative economy that values the protection of intellectual-property rights and rejects cybertheft of trade secrets for commercial gain," Obama said at the summit, according to remarks circulated by the White House.
The USPS hack is not the first time a cyber intrusion has been linked to China. Earlier breaches involving the Office of Personnel Management and a security-clearance contractor are also suspected of being China-sponsored hits.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department secured the indictment of members of China's People's Liberation Army on grounds it had hacked a number of American businesses in an attempt to steal trade secrets.