How worried are feds about the OPM data breach?

Technology

How worried are feds about the OPM data breach?

Are you a current or former fed that may have been impacted by the data breach? Take our poll and tell us how worried you are about the safety of your personal...

Julia Ziegler

June 5, 2015 10:44 am

2 min read

Four-million current and former federal employees are being put on notice by the Office of Personnel Management. The agency said Thursday that their personally identifiable information (PII) may have been compromised during a cybersecurity breach at the agency in April.

Federal News Radio wants to know how feds are feeling about the data breach. Are you worried about the potential exposure of your personal information? Take our poll, comment on this article, or join the conversation on Facebook.

The poll in this story is no longer available.

Those who commented on our Facebook page expressed shock, dismay and sarcasm.

“Great! Why can’t they keep all our data safe?!” wrote Tom Lacko.

“There is a reason I have always liked paper….” wrote Rick Peuser.

“I’m annoyed more than worried at the moment,” wrote Jane Hendron. “It has taken them since May 15 to make this public and now employees still have to wait for another 4-15 days before actually getting notified. I’m less concerned about the hackers creating fake credit cards with my info. My larger concern is how they might use the information to alter my bank accounts, or even TSP since all of that information is stored with OPM.”

Others indicated they were weary of bad news that sounds all too familiar. In December, OPM reached out to over 48,000 feds to alert them that their personally identifiable information may have been exposed due to a compromised computer network at KeyPoint Government Solutions, the largest private provider of background check services for the federal government.

Shirley Gasch Shananan wrote, “Good grief….another slap in the face.”

It is unclear at this time what exact information hackers may have gained access to. OPM will offer credit monitoring and identity theft insurance to those impacted.

That doesn’t sit well with Paula Trzaskoma Cooper, who said she had mixed feelings about giving the same sort of personally identifiable information to credit monitoring services.

“I don’t like the idea of just handing over ALL of my PII to protect what should have been protected by others,” she wrote. “I’m also somewhat bothered by an email from the powers that be at my agency reminding us of the seriousness of cyber threats and the importance of protecting data. Seems to me that it’s not the employees who need that reminder. I’m disappointed that better care was not taken and we’ll be expected to reveal all of our personal data once again (to a third party no less) in light of this.”

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

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