The original OPM hack of security clearances by the Chinese was downplayed by the media. Update to this previous story.
Via Washington Post:
The government is notifying journalists who are accredited by federal agencies that their personal information may have been stolen by the Chinese, another sign of the breadth of the massive hack of U.S. computer networks.
The exposure of Social Security numbers and other personal data of people who never worked for the government, but have or once may have had access to federal buildings, could involve hundreds and as many as thousands of reporters, photographers and cameramen and women who regularly cover the White House and hundreds of agencies in Washington and nationwide.
Reporters who write about the Defense Department, the White House and the CIA for The Washington Post confirmed that they have received letters in recent weeks, telling them their personal information may have been stolen and urging them to sign up for free credit monitoring and identity-theft protection.
The Office of Personnel Management sent final notices last week to more than 21 million current and former federal employees and contractors to inform them that the background investigation files used to vet them for security clearances were exposed by the hackers, who U.S. officials have privately said were with the Chinese government. The breach involved people who applied for security clearances or had them renewed since about 2000 and in some cases earlier.