The employment records of roughly 1 million of the government’s 2.5 million retirees were hit by the data breach announced last week. All in all, data on about 4 million workers, former workers and retirees, was scooped up by hackers believed to be working for the Chinese government or military.

Employment records include things such as names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, job held, training information, performance awards and, in some cases, both current and former addresses. Any of them is a major find for identify thieves. Getting the name, birthdays and Social Security is the mother lode for a crook. Toss in your mother’s maiden name and you and your credit record are, potentially, toast.

In the case of retirees, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees, said that the employment records scooped up by hackers are not the same as retiree files. A spokeswoman for NARFE — which represents both active and retired federal and postal workers — said the way it affected retirees “is that some of the people (whose employment records were compromised) have since retired from the government.” But information about them since they actually retired — name, residence, amount of the annuity payments, etc. — was not hacked.

If you have been victimized, you will be getting an email (from opmcio@csid.com) or letter telling you what information the government believes the hackers now have.

Spy Bait? In the past, foreign governments (as well as freelancers) have hacked financial data from Americans and sold it to criminals. A big concern in the most recent case is who did the hacking and who got hacked!

Knowing the financial situation — or difficulties — of anyone can paint them as a target in need of cash. National Counterintelligence and Security Director Dan Payne said the fact that you don’t have a top security clearance, or work for a CIA/NSA-like operation doesn’t remove you from recruiters list. ” Foreign intelligence services aggregate large volumes of information, some of which can have significant national security value. Additionally, they are able to identify people who are in positions with access to significant national security information and can use that data to target individuals.” Like you!

So be careful about suddenly acquiring a new BFF — especially if he or she is very charming and attractive — and don’t open strange emails at home or the office.

OPM will offer free credit monitoring and identify theft insurance for the next 18 months. And check your credit reports – usually available through your bank — weekly for the next few months.

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID

By Michael O’Connell

In 1867, sculptor Ferderic Auguste Bartholdi originally intended the Statue of Liberty to by placed in Egypt at the entrance of the Suez Canal, which was then under construction. The statue would’ve been called “Progress” or “Egypt carrying light to Asia.” Rather than the female torchbearer we know today, the statue would’ve been a farmer holding a torch.

Source: Listverse

Read all of Federal News Radio’s coverage of the OPM Cyber Breach.

RELATED STORIES:

Cyber attack against OPM was 1 of 9 DHS recently discovered targeting ‘bulk PII’
The cyber attack against the Office of Personnel Management is part of a year-long coordinated effort to steal federal employee and contractors’ personal data.

OPM retirement processing rate hits new year’s low
The Office of Personnel Management received and processed more retirement claims than expected in May, but at its slowest rate in a year. While only expecting to receive 7,100 claims this month, OPM received 7,845 claims. It exceeded its own expectations, however, by processing 10,697 claims when it had projected only 9,100 would be completed.

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.