With the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) scrambling to boost its security after a data breach compromised 4.2 million Americans’ personal information, a key congressman from Florida said he will consider increasing its funds for cybersecurity. Federal authorities insist the breach came from China.
On Friday, U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., the chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, said he was open to increasing funding for additional security measures. Crenshaw’s subcommittee oversees the OPM’s budget.
“Questions regarding the extent and impact of the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's) data breach continue to grow, yet answers remain few,” Crenshaw said on Friday. “We still don’t even know the number of federal employees impacted or the extent to which their personnel files have been compromised. In a word, this is unacceptable.
“The administration and OPM, in particular, have a duty to safeguard federal personnel and background security information of current, former, and prospective employees and must provide assistance to those affected by the breaches,” Crenshaw added. “I have long supported OPM’s IT modernization program; however, the OPM inspector general has cast serious doubt about the program in its current form and cautions that ‘there is a high risk that this [program] will fail to meet the objectives of providing a secure operating environment.’ Such concerns must not be taken lightly.”
Crenshaw noted that OPM asked for more funds to increase their security measures but noted that the Obama administration didn’t exactly have a solid track record on the matter, noting the issues the website for President Barack Obama’s federal health-care problem had.
“We’ll give some consideration to additional funding that the Office of Personnel Management’s identified to address the agency’s data breach while we also take into consideration the concerns of the OPM Office of Inspector General,” Crenshaw said. “With the failed roll-out of healthcare.com not that far behind us, we must ensure the response to the OPM breach is effective, efficient, and delivers protection to the sensitive personnel and security information of millions of Americans.”
OPM Director Katherine Archuleta made the rounds on Capitol Hill last week, insisting her agency was doing its best to handle the breach. On Sunday, Archuleta doubled down on her efforts, unveiling a plan to help victims whose information was stolen.
“For individuals who were impacted by the incident involving personnel data that we announced on June 4, OPM is offering credit monitoring services and identity theft insurance through CSID, a subcontractor to Winvale,” Archuleta announced. 'This includes credit monitoring, as well as access to credit reports, identity theft insurance, and recovery services and the services are available immediately at no cost."
Insisting “we’ve made progress,” Archuleta pointed to IT efforts and to additional call center employees who can help victims.
“Each and every day, as we investigate these attacks and aggressively work on the redesign of our computer network, we are keeping in mind the millions of men and women who have [served] and continue to serve the American people,” Archuleta insisted. “We honor your contributions and the trust you put in us to keep your information safe. I pledge that we will do everything we can to give you the support you need.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
