Report: Chinese hackers stole data from up to 4 millions of federal employees

The Obama administration is scrambling to assess the impact of an unprecedented data breach involving the agency that handles security clearances and employee records.

According to the Washington Post, Chinese hackers breached the Office of Personnel Management in December and gained access to personal information of up to 4 million current and former employees.

A congressional aide familiar with the situation, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to discuss it, says the OPM and the Interior Department were hacked. A second U.S. official who also declined to be identified said the data breach could potentially affect every federal agency.

The White House was considering a public announcement of the breach Thursday night or Friday morning, the second official said.

The OPM did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The hack is an unprecedented breach of federal data. For context, the federal government currently employs 4.2 million people.

The OPM is the federal government's human resources department, and issues security clearances.