Victims of the breach still have not been notified. OPM will start sending postal laters “later this month.” The government will spend $133 million on identity theft protection services. With options, it could go up to $330 million. ID Experts (Identity Theft Guard Solutions LLC) got the gig to provide the service, which will provide…
Category: Government Sector
IRS Workers Busted for ID Theft, Filing Bogus Returns
Ken Berry, J.D. writes: Who can you trust with sensitive personal information like your Social Security number (SSN) and tax return data? Evidently, not even the people who used to work at the IRS. In a new case, a former IRS employee was sentenced on August 26 to two years in prison in connection with…
China Allegedly Hacked Top Former FBI Lawyer
Jeff Stein reports: Marion “Spike” Bowman, a top former FBI lawyer and U.S. counterintelligence official who heads an influential organization of retired American spies, says a hacker from China penetrated his home computer, beginning with an innocent-looking email last spring. Read more on Newsweek.
The National Crime Agency website DDoSed?
Harry Readhead reports: A hacking group has claimed to have attacked the National Crime Agency in revenge for the arrest of several people for internet attacks. As part of Operation Vivarium, the NCA detained six people on 28 August for allegedly purchasing a hacking tool that allows users to temporarily shut down websites. And hackgroup…
Minnesota blames faulty web portal for breach of 18 residents’ driver’s license information
AP reports: Minnesota officials say driver’s license data on 18 residents was accessed after a password-protected portal was inadvertently opened online. The Department of Public Safety said Monday the breach happened when a server update accidentally removed the authentication process to access the state’s driver’s license database. Two individuals used the portal 55 times between…
China and Russia are cross-indexing hacked data to target U.S. spies, officials say
Brian Bennett and W. J. Hennigan report: Foreign spy services, especially in China and Russia, are aggressively aggregating and cross-indexing hacked U.S. computer databases — including security clearance applications, airline records and medical insurance forms — to identify U.S. intelligence officers and agents, U.S. officials said. At least one clandestine network of American engineers and…