issues continue to grow for federal employees whose information was compromised in the recently discovered personal office of Management hack - and now members of the family of employees could be at risk as well. New information indicates that rather than the initial report of 4.2 million employee records being accessed, hackers were able to access nearly five times more data. This includes over 21 million Social Security numbers, 1.1 million fingerprint records and 19.7 million background investigation forms. Anyone who has submitted an audit of federal history since 2000 is probably at risk, and it is also possible according to the Wall Street Journal as those who have undergone background checks before 2000 could also be at risk. Regardless, it seems that the federal government can not catch a break when it comes to the latter offense, and following the lawmakers calling OPM Director Katherine Archuleta to be fired, she resigned.
What is this new information OPM violation means to me
The background of potentially accessible clearance forms for decades, meaning that past federal employees present - ?, as the families of those who were required to complete a background check to be approved for hire - should be on alert. It has been estimated that 1.8 million family members were exposed as a result of 19.7 million background checks accessible formats. Among the exposed data are Social Security numbers, which can be used by identity in many ways to commit identity fraud thieves. However, it is important to keep in mind that it is believed that the pirates responsible for this violation are sponsored by the Chinese state whose goal is to collect information that can be used against spies and other enemies of State. Indeed, substantive clearance forms contain information such as records of past drug use, mental health issues and foreign contacts that could be useful to a foreign intelligence agency blackmail or espionage against . The employees of the FBI, CIA, State Department and the Defense Ministry are included in the millions of people whose information was stolen, making it a national security issue falls. However, China has not accepted responsibility for this hack, and it is best for the victims to be on the alert in case made its way stolen information on the black market for Internet or other hubs for identity thieves.
Following the announcement of the initial hack, OPM offered credit monitoring and CSID without identity to employees whose information may have been exposed. Those who were eligible at that time were notified by letter during a two week period in June. The federal agency said it will provide three years of protection against identity theft to more than 21 million people whose information has been breached, contracted with a private company. It is not yet known whether this coverage will also CSID or another company.
In the meantime, you can learn more about protecting your identity and the identity of family members reading our identity theft protection blog and check our review of identity theft best protection services on the market.