The disclosure by U.S. officials that Chinese hackers stole records of as many as 4 million government workers is now being linked to the thefts of personal information from health-care companies.

Forensic evidence indicates that the group of hackers responsible for the U.S. government breach announced Thursday likely carried out attacks on health-insurance providers Anthem Inc. and Premera Blue Cross that were reported earlier this year, said John Hultquist of iSight Partners Inc., a cyber-intelligence company that works with federal investigators.

The thefts are believed to be part of a larger effort by Chinese hackers to get health-care records and other personal information on millions of U.S. government employees and contractors from various sources, including insurers, government agencies and federal contractors, said an American intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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