German government employees among 16 million victims in data theft

BERLIN, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Six-hundred German government employees were among the victims of a massive data theft in which 16 million online identities were stolen, authorities said.

The email addresses and passwords for the government workers and 17 members of Parliament were stolen, TheLocal.de reported Monday.

The Federal Office for Online Security, or BSI, said Eastern European criminals were responsible for the attack, Der Spiegel reported.

The BSI made the theft public at the end of January, but had known about it since August, the report said.

The agency set up a website where people can check to see if their email address was among the millions taken.