Kilmer details new protections against data breaches
KEYPORT — U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, met with civilian defense workers Friday and detailed newly passed protections for those affected by hacking attacks on the Office of Personnel Management.
Provisions from a bill introduced by Kilmer and Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va., to extend identity theft protection were included in the Omnibus Appropriations Act signed into law by President Barack Obama.
At a town hall meeting, Kilmer highlighted how OPM will now offer comprehensive identity theft coverage that offers up to $5 million in insurance for 10 years to affected individuals. Last year officials announced that in two separate incidents hackers accessed databases of personal information overseen by the OPM. Those breaches affected more than 22 million people — including family and friends of current and former government employees. OPM reported that records taken from the breaches include Social Security numbers, residency and educational history, employment history and background checks.
According to news reports, the attack originated when hackers went into the system of a government contractor, KeyPoint Government Solutions, and took an employee's credentials. The attackers were able to spend a year looking through OPM databases.
Source: Kitsap Sun