Marco Rubio Calls for Accountability at OPM, Obama Administration Over Cyberattack

Presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., weighed in on the data breach at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in which more than 4 million Americans had their information stolen. Rubio called for accountability at OPM and the White House while warning about China which is believed to have launched the cyberattack. 

“It’s important for Americans to understand just how dangerous a recent hack of federal databases is to our national security,” Rubio said on Thursday. “The major cyberattack against the Office of Personnel Management database exposed the personal information of millions of federal employees in all branches of government. Every day seems to reveal new unsettling information about a breach that has not only jeopardized the privacy of millions of Americans, but also compromised our national security.
 
“It is important to find out if OPM was sufficiently warned and whether or not the Obama administration had the time, opportunity and tools necessary to protect this data,” Rubio added. “Someone at OPM or within the administration should be held responsible for this breach. Further, all details that can be shared with the public, and especially those affected, should be released immediately to halt the slow, trickle of bad news that keeps coming from this attack.
 
“Going forward, the U.S. needs an unparalleled offensive cyber capability that can be used as a deterrent against enemy state actors and cybercriminals," Rubio continued. “Additionally, this massive OPM breach further demonstrates that there is much work to be done to create the strongest possible cyber defenses to protect our government networks, which are under constant attack from bad actors around the globe.
 
“One immediate thing we can do in Congress is pass the bipartisan Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, which will help the federal government and private sector better coordinate to halt impending cyberattacks,” Rubio said in conclusion before issuing a warning on China. “Reports indicate that all signs point to China being responsible for this act. With its growing regional expansionism and illegitimate territorial claims in the South China Sea, its rapid military buildup in defense capabilities, its provocative activities in space and its 24-7 offensive cyberattacks against the U.S. government and private sector, it’s clear the past six and a half years of the Obama foreign policy have sent the wrong message to Beijing. We need to make sure our country has the strongest possible defenses in places to protect government data and repel efforts like these.”