China and Russia have been accused of using hacked U.S. data to identify and target American intelligence officials working covertly abroad.

According to CNN, U.S. officials, who choose to remain anonymous, said Tuesday that Beijing was very active in the operation which has being implemented as part of a national strategy targeting Washington.

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The officials say foreign intelligence agencies have been using data acquired from the massive breach of millions of U.S. government data from the Office of Personnel Management. Information acquired from other high-profile cyberattacks targeting the U.S. has also been employed in the operation to identify and compromise U.S. spies and their missions.

"Individually, the OPM breach and the Ashley Madison breach both present significant dangers to U.S. personnel, including intelligence personnel, but taken together, they really ratchet up the level of harm," Marc Zwillnger, a lawyer handling data breach and privacy cases said.

"The OPM breach has confidential information about U.S. personnel and people that have applied for security clearances, and the Ashely Madison breach reveals people's most intimate secrets about affairs they might be having, and together, it provides a lot of leverage that could be used to blackmail and possibly influence U.S. personnel."

Although the U.S. and members of President Barrack Obama's administration have accused China and Russia of being behind most cyberattacks in America, the government is yet to release an official statement or announce a method of retaliation.  

China, on the other hand, has always maintained innocence in the face of several accusations including reports that Beijing was behind the OPM breach and other cyberattacks against the U.S. Beijing insists that they have also been targeted by cyberattacks and the government opposes and fights all forms of cybercrimes.

Meanwhile, high profile U.S. officials have raised the possibility of addressing the problem of cyberattacks, which have been increasing since 2000. The government is also considering the best possible method of protecting U.S. sensitive data and punishing countries found guilty of organizing the attacks. Washington has been mulling over sanctions against China and other countries suspected of sponsoring cyberattacks against the U.S. However, President Obama wants to achieve the goal without endangering U.S. business interests in China.

These issues and others would surely be discussed when President Obama hosts President Xi Jinping at the White House later this month.

TagsChina Russia U.S. Cyberattacks, OPM hack, Ashley Madison breach, US Cyberattacks China, US Cyber Attack on China, Russia Cyber Attack US