Where are the notifications for the OPM hack?

With 21.5 million federal employees, contractors and family members whose Social Security numbers and personal details were stolen in the second breach this year of Office of Personnel Management records, where are the notifications?

That’s the question being asked by the Professional Services Council on behalf of many federal contractors, large and small, who are unsure of their exposure.

“By all accounts, OPM will not have a contract in place to provide for that notification until the middle of August at the earliest. This is an unacceptable delay in notifications to, and protection for, these affected individuals,” Stan Soloway, PSC president of the PSC, wrote in a July 29 email to OPM Acting Director Beth Cobert.

In addition to the 21.5 million stolen Social Security numbers, there were 19.7 million records stolen belonging to people who had undergone background investigations, OPM said. These included sensitive information such as details on past drug use and mental health. In addition, 1.1 million fingerprints were leaked.

OPM officials said individuals who underwent background investigations in or after the year 2000 are "highly likely" to have had their information compromised, according to the National Journal. That includes both new applicants and those subject to a periodic reinvestigation.

In June, OPM announced that 4.2 million individuals were affected by a hack. Contractor CSID was employed to send out notifications and provide identity protection. OPM has said that 98% of the victims of the earlier hack have been notified.

But contracts for notification and identity protection have been delayed for victims of the second, larger OPM hack. An initial schedule proposed that bids would be due in mid-August.

A Navy contracting office at “NAVSEA” has taken over responsibility for soliciting a contract for OPM hack victim protection measures, according to an Aug. 4 article by GovExec. It said NAVSEA was not chosen for any specific experience with breach response, but for its history with large and complex contracts.

The contract is expected to include at least three years of credit monitoring and other services.

More Information: National Journal article: http://goo.gl/NGWGTG
GovExec article: http://goo.gl/rQchBR

Where are the notifications for the OPM hack?

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