The Patriot Post® · The Effect of China's Hack Could Be Staggering

When the Office of Personnel Management announced that the data of four million past and present federal employees were taken by China, it could have been running damage control. The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union for federal employees, accused OPM of being not forthright about the hack. The union believes China targeted the Central Personnel File and is now in possession of the information of every federal employee, including those who retired and left the government’s employ. But it could be much, much worse. An unnamed government official told ABC News China could have targeted the database that stored government employees’ SF-86 forms — the 127-page form public workers fill out when they apply for a security clearance. For a malicious government seeking to recruit spies, it’s the Holy Grail, as the form asks the applicant to list the applicant’s network — the people slept with, the foreign nationals in contact with, family members. We don’t yet know what information is in China’s hands. But one thing is clear: Big government stands directly opposed to privacy, and by extension, Liberty. This is why the big data that comes with ObamaCare is so insidious. When it comes to cybersecurity, Liberty is America’s greatest strength.