Hacker stole sensitive FEMA and border patrol data in months

(CNN) — An unidentified hacker stole sensitive data from Customs and Border Protection and Federal Emergency Management Agency employees in a “widespread” breach this summer that lasted several weeks, according to an internal FEMA assessment reviewed by CNN.

The incident led to an urgent cleanup operation by senior Department of Homeland Security IT officials after the hacker gained deeper access to a FEMA computer network that handles operations in a region that stretches from New Mexico to Texas to Louisiana, the document says.

The incident has roiled the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both FEMA and Customs and Border Protection, and raised new questions about the department’s ability to protect the information of the more than quarter-million people who work there.