Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Justice Department said the U.S. and China reached an agreement this week on guidelines for requesting assistance on cybercrime.
- China and the U.S. also agreed to work together to conduct "tabletop exercises" in the spring, Reuters reported. The exercises would be designed to improve understanding of the expectations for response and cooperation.
- Talks between China and the U.S., which took place Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, D.C., were follow-up to an agreement between the two countries that was signed in September.
Dive Insight:
The talks included U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Chinese Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun.
China's Ministry of Public security said the new cybercrime agreement would have a "major impact" on the implementation of internet security measures.
Yesterday, Xinhua, China's official news agency, said an investigation into the OPM breach last year determined it was a criminal act, and not state-sponsored. The news agency did not give details of who conducted the investigation, or whether U.S. officials agree with the conclusion.
On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that multiple people had been arrested in the case, though U.S. officials have said they believe the attack was a government-sponsored intrusion.
The next round of talks between the two countries are planned for June, the Justice Department said.
