US Government Turns Back On System That Exposed Info On Nearly 22 Million

— -- The government system shut down after foreign hackers stole millions of sensitive records is now back online -- easing a potential backlog of background investigations for federal workers and others.

The Office of Personnel Management, whose computers systems had been infiltrated for more than a year, closed the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing system -- or “e-QIP” -- last month after discovering its computer networks were infiltrated.

The system, which allows applicants for security clearances to submit forms electronically, was “brought back online [today] ... after extensive testing,” OPM said in a statement. It is the first step in what will ultimately be a complete reopening of the system online.

U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials are particularly concerned over the OPM hack because it exposed forms submitted via e-QIP known as SF-86s. They require applicants to provide personal information not only about themselves but also relatives, friends, “associates” and foreign contacts spanning several years.

The forms also ask applicants about past drug use, financial history, mental health history and personal relationships.

Such information could be exploited to pressure or trick employees and U.S. officials into further compromising their agencies, or they could provide ways for hackers to target people outside government, sources have told ABC News.

U.S. officials have called China the “leading suspect” in the cyber-assault on OPM.

“It’s very alarming, and it’s certainly not a good thing for our intelligence” community and others in the U.S. government, the CIA’s top lawyer, Caroline Krass, told a national security forum in Colorado today.

Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum a day earlier, FBI Director James Comey called the breach a “gold mine” for a foreign government’s intelligence service.

Meanwhile, in its statement today, OPM insisted it “remains committed to protecting the safety and security of the information of federal employees and contractors.”