• Hydraulic fracturing (also called “fracking”), a method for extracting oil and natural gas

• Frak (expletive), a term from Battlestar Galactica formerly spelled “frack”

• Hans Rudolf “Frack” Mauch, one of two ice skaters in the ice skating duo Frick and Frack

• You 

Are you one of 21 million Americans whose most personal and financial data has been captured — as in hacked — by an unnamed foreign power that rhymes with China?

If you ever worked for the government, retired from federal service, applied for a job or a security clearance, or are a reporter who covers the government (gulp!) you are likely in the mix. On (at least) three separate occasions, somebody or somebody’s hacked into government databases and got lots of info on lots of people. In some cases, that included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, job titles and your mother’s maiden name. Handy for a variety of things if you are a crook, a broker for crooks or a foreign power that wishes the U.S.A. would go away.

By now many, probably most, of the people who were hacked have gotten letters from the government. And the promise of 3-years crediting monitoring.

The question is: now what? Also …

What happens after three years and one day of credit monitoring have passed? Will, sometime in 2018 or 2019, you go on a buying spree. You may be a retired little old lady (or man) in Pasadena, or Arlington, when various weird charges start popping up on your otherwise dormant credit card. As one reader put it:

“I have been fracked. Plain and simple. I got my letter and the promise of credit monitoring for a limited time. What happens after that limited time?” J. C.

Retiree Tony Krolik says:

“Just wanted to let you know I was identified as one of those lucky people who was hacked by some foreign power. I don’t know what they get out me. I don’t have any military secrets or foreign policy. I did sign up for the identity protection they provided for me for the next 3 years. If they want to take cash or credit I don’t have a lot, They’ll have to hit a few million of us to be of any use to another country. I just wanted to live out my retired days nice and quiet, yet I have to thank my former employer for allowing my info to go international. Maybe they find me boring and just leave me alone.”

What next?

Stay low. Be alert. Try to be real boring. Then, maybe, the Frackmeister will pass you by.

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Michael O’Connell

“Bullethead, clanker and chrome job are some of the more common nicknames for the Cylons, the chief antagonists on the “Battlestar Galactica” television show.

Source: battlestarwiki.org

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