According to reports, the arrests took place shortly before a state visit in September by President Xi Jinping. This is the reason U.S. officials say they appear to have been carried out in an effort to lessen tensions with Washington. While China has announced the arrest of the OPM hackers, it has not divulged any further details. The identities of the suspects and whether they have any connection to the Chinese government has not been disclosed. If the individuals detained were indeed the hackers, the arrests would be first time China has acted against hackers targeting US interests. US officials are still not buying China’s claims. The officials said that it has been difficult to confirm whether the people rounded up were connected to the OPM breach. “We don’t know that if the arrests the Chinese purported to have made are the guilty parties,” said one U.S. official who — like others interviewed — spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the subject’s sensitivity. “There is a history [in China] of people being arrested for things they didn’t do or other ‘crimes against the state.’?”
