China has reportedly detained the hackers responsible for the breaching the database of the US Office of Personal Management in June this year. The breach allegedly exposed sensitive data of over 20 million former and current federal employees. This is the first time that the People's Republic has admitted that the masterminds behind the breach are Chinese, but the government insists it did not sanction the hacking.

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The detention of the suspected hackers comes following a cyberspace deal between the US and China during President Xi Jinping's recent visit to America. Following repeated data phising attacks against government and corporate agencies, the Washington Post reports that Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson have met with senior Chinese officials to set new protocols on law enforcement against malicious cyberactivities.

The arrest of the suspects behind the OPM hack is expected to further smoothen ties between both sides after Washington accused China of sponsoring the cyber attacks. If the unidentified suspects are eventually found guilty, the case is expected to set a precedent.

"It would be the most important arrest that we've perhaps seen in cybercrime," said Columbia University School of International Public Affairs' senior researcher Jason Healey.

However, a US official has admitted that it will be quite difficult to ascertain if the suspects are really behind the OPM breach. "We don't know that if the arrests the Chinese purported to have made are the guilty parties. There is a history [in China] of people being arrested for things they didn't do or other 'crimes against the state," said a US representative.

Despite speculations that the Chinese government - particularly the Ministry of State Security - was behind the malicious attack, a US official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that China has dealt with the issue as an act of crime and not a state-sponsored one. The New York Times cited a Xinhua report which stated that "Through investigation, the case turned out to be a criminal case, rather than a state-sponsored cyberattack as the U.S. side has previously suspected."

Through the media, Chinese officials reportedly found out that weeks before the summit with Xi, the United States was planning to impose economic sanctions on Chinese establishments that may have gained advantage from the cyber attack. Soon, Meng Jianzhu, Xi's deputy, paid a visit in the White House and explained that the Chinese government had no direct connection in the OPM hacking. He also vowed to bring in those behind the attack to justice.

It is unclear how many suspects were arrested. Chinese authorities are yet to release more information about the arrest.

TagsMinistry of State Security, Office of Personal Management attack, OPM hack, Chinese hackers, cyber crime, Chinese Suspects OPM Hack, China Cyber Attacks US, US OPM Data Breach