Chinese hackers suspected in major U.S. Postal Service breach

The U.S. Postal Service has been hacked, and the likely culprits are Chinese hackers.

The USPS discovered a “cyber security intrusion” that may have compromised the personal data of its more than 800,000 employees, it said on Monday. But the agency downplayed the incident, calling it “limited in scope.”

The hackers “potentially” gained access to USPS employees’ personal data such as names, dates of birth, social security numbers and addresses, the agency stated.

Employees weren’t the only ones affected. Hackers also compromised the personal data of customers who contacted the Postal Service Customer Care Center via telephone or email between Jan. 1, 2014, and Aug. 16, 2014; this data includes names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and other information, USPS added.

Chinese hackers suspected in major U.S. Postal Service breach.