Durbin: I Could Be Victim, Too, Of Federal Computer Breach

(CBS) – Some 4 million current and former federal workers are at risk, following a massive security breach of government computers blamed on China.

Fifty thousand work for the federal government in Chicago alone.

Even U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, says he could be a victim.

"It isn't as visible as moving troops ... but it can have a devastating, negative effect on our defense and our economy," Durbin tells CBS 2's Jeremy Ross. "It's naive for anyone to think they're safe."

Employees are worried, says Kenneth Jones of AFGE, the largest union representing federal workers. The union says the hackers may have accessed family, health and financial data; they're asking members to watch their credit ratings for the next two weeks.

Darren Guccione, of Keeper Security, suspects the people behind this attack are well funded, experienced and could have breached security long ago.

"The hackers could have been in those systems for weeks or even months," he says.