The Office of Personnel management have now announced on Wednesday that over 5.6 million people are now estimated to have had their fingerprint information stolen.
According to OPM, “federal experts believe that, as of now, the ability to misuse fingerprint data is limited.” The office acknowledged, however, that future technologies could take advantage of this information.
It was originally thought to be about 1.1 million, OPM said in a statement. About 21.5 million individuals had their Social Security Numbers and other sensitive information affected by the hack.
U.S. officials have privately blamed the breach on Chinese government hackers, but they have avoided saying so publicly. For its part, Beijing has denied any involvement.
An interagency working group—to include FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Defense Department representatives—plans to review the implications of the stolen fingerprint data, according to OPM.
Officials also have said no evidence has surfaced yet suggesting the stolen data has been abused, though they fear the theft could present counterintelligence problems.
The increased number of stolen fingerprints represents only the latest in a series of calamitous revelations from OPM about the hacker intrusion that led to the resignation of the agency’s director Katherine Archuleta in July.
