One breach involved a personnel database of some 4.5 million current and former federal employees, the other a database for background checks for access to certain federal facilities. Image: Casimiro PT/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffA newly offered House bill (HR-7236) would make identify protection services free and permanent for federal employees that had personal information exposed in the OPM database breaches that occurred nearly a decade ago.
Those services currently are due to expire in 2026, “but only lifetime identity protection will give these workers the peace of mind they deserve,” said sponsor Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C. “Because there is no limit to the duration on when the compromised personal information can be used, Congress must protect these federal employees and contractors in perpetuity.”
OPM revealed in mid-2015 that two separate breaches occurred, earlier that year and late in 2014. One involved a personnel database of some 4.5 million current and former federal employees, the other a database of those who had background checks run on them for reasons such as to gain access to certain federal facilities. The latter involved more than 21 million people, including about 3.6 million who also were affected by the personnel records breach who had checks done for new or renewed security clearances.
While both included information such as names, addresses and Social Security numbers, the latter also involved highly personal financial and other information asked for security clearance reasons, including in some cases fingerprints.
The incidents resulted in the resignation of the then-OPM director and laws providing for free services such as monitoring of credit records, surveillance of the Internet for personal information being sold, and identity restoration services and identity theft insurance to cover costs involved with restoring identity.
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