Back in May, I talked about how data privacy was becoming a bigger issue for companies. Included in that, is the notion that human resources will play a key role in protecting information.

Today comes work of a massive coordinated effort by Chinese hackers to seek personal information on tens of thousands of government workers.  The New York Times lead article for today states:

Chinese hackers in March broke into the computer networks of the United States government agency that houses the personal information of all federal employees, according to senior American officials. They appeared to be targeting the files on tens of thousands of employees who have applied for top-secret security clearances.

The article goes on to note that private companies, particularly those in the defense industry, have continued to see an increase in cyber attacks on items such a personnel data.

In Connecticut, there are hundreds of government contractors and subcontractors who work on defense contracts.  But there are many more that remain a target as well.

There should be little doubt now that the personal information about your employees remains an at-risk area for companies.

I’ll have details soon on a symposium coming this fall on data privacy and workplace issues. For now, save the date of October 16h and watch this space for more information.