The Office for Personnel Management finally admits that they lost the personal information of 21 million US citizens to Chinese hackers, according to Fox News;
Katherine Archuleta, director of the federal Office of Personnel Management, said she has no plans to step down and is committed to continuing her work for the agency. The White House, which had previously stated that President Barack Obama was confident in her leadership, said there were no plans to change its position despite the calls for her resignation.
The increased calls for Archuleta to be replaced came as the Obama administration disclosed Thursday that the number of people affected by the massive data breach was far higher than previously reported.
They first admitted that over four million victims’ information had been breached by hackers, but now it turns out that was only about 20%. Typical for this administration, no presidential appointed politician is at fault – you know, even though every legal gun owner is at fault for mass shooting incidents.
I’m here to tell you that OPM is packed with the most incompetent boobs in government. They’re a bunch of back-stabbing bureaucrats who are quick to screw their fellow government employees right to the wall. And you contractors who had security clearances, your shit is in China, too, right along with the PII of your relatives and friends that you used for references.
If you think that veterans working for the VA are bad, that’s only because you haven’t dealt with the stumble-bum ritards at OPM and I have to think that is a culture that has it’s roots in the leadership of the organization.
Update: OPM has released their “plan” to protect employees and contractors as well as the people you listed on your application for a clearance. Actually, it’s just a list of steps for closing the barn door after the horses ran far, far away.
And they say that they’re not stealing our PII to try to get money directly from us or our bank accounts but, to try to profile those that they could blackmail, turn for espionage purposes or profile for *other* dastardly ideals.
So we got THAT going for us, which is nice.
They couldn’t get anything useful out of me. They probably already have all the schematics and op manuals for everything I ever worked on.
If I were them I would comb through the profiles to find the ones that might be more valuable, then sell the rest to identity thieves as a form of ongoing low-level harassment. Plenty of government employees with clearances probably aren’t worth the effort or resources of the Chinese government to try to specifically exploit anything out of, but they can still muck up the workings of our government even more than they already are by forcing those folks to focus on dealing with their identities being stolen instead of doing their jobs.
Sell the ISI anyone with ties to Pakistan, sell a file to Russia of folks with ties in Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, the Baltics, sell ISIS the addresses of family members here in the US, etc…there’s no end of traumas just waiting to be inflicted. Future politicians, future department heads, etc., etc…
Yahoo One of 21 mil that is me.
One can only hope that that paper mountain is sooo big that finding my special snowflake will be hard.
I’m an eebil double dipping government contractor and my PII has been hacked twice since I started working for DHS. In one year. It’s no longer PII, it’s public knowledge.
It’s no longer PII, it’s public knowledge
Ain’t that what the “P” stands for in PII?
Publicly Identifiable Information (PII)???
Well ….. NOW it does.
And yet, military personnel are being kicked to the curb with nothing for one bad piece of paper.
“Oh, don’t worry about getting fired. You’ll keep your job, we’ll kick military personnel out to cut costs. Oh, you have some space up on your wall, do you need another Obama poster there? Or are you happy with the 4 you have up now?”
So what they are saying then is I can expect to be approached by a Foreign Service Officer requesting my assistance in providing information to foreign govts for which I will be handsomely rewarded but screwed over in the end as the provebial scapegoat? I have seen the SAEDA training films I know how it ends, no thank you!
I cannot pinpoint when accountability and responsibility were separated from consequences, but it certainly is a fact of politics and government. Time was that a person who was accountable to the public and who failed either resigned or was asked to resign. That no longer happens at it once did. Instead, when the shit hits the fan, and responsibility (i.e., blame) is fixed, the culprit gets to “admit” there was failure on their watch and…that’s it. Done. “Let’s do lunch.”
Oh, you remember Nixon, too?
Seems to me that Nixon and his cronies were held accountable, Ex-PH2. A fair number ended up in jail, including Agnew; Nixon and a number of others were forced out; and Nixon only escaped prosecution because Ford decided to pardon him. (No, I don’t think there was any deal involved – but I also think it was the wrong thing for Ford to have done.)
Fast forward 20 years, and you cannot say as much for the Clintoon Administration. Fast forward another 14 and the same is true of the current gang of fools and tools.
The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that Robert Bork and Pat Moynihan were right in “Slouching Towards Gomorrah” and “Defining Deviancy Down”, respectively.
I understood Ex- to mean Nixon as an example of how people used to have to face consequences. I think we are all reading from the same book. We’re just on different pages.
Personally, even though Nixon resigned publicly, I always felt that he was told ‘do it or get fired’, meaning prosecution.
Latest news is that she will resign. I bet she has a contractor or lobbying job all lined up.
and she’ll get to keep her golden parachute pension package rather then being fired and losing it all.
Though from this it sounds like she should be fired with nothing.
Oh, but “we” only cause military pensions to be penalized these days. Heaven forbid a gummint civilian’s pension be forfeit.
Famous last words coming from the incompetent technocrat:
https://twitter.com/Archuleta2012/status/260471667208368128
That is a scream. I can’t believe the account remains active. But, then again, it’s probably true that half of the staff is off today and the other half hasn’t arrived for work yet. (It’s only 10:05 a.m., EST)
They would deactivate it, but the Chinese found their PII and figured out the password.
So, its locked out and her minions can’t get back into it.
Good explanation. And funny as hell.
One of these days, the people whose names are on that list will find that their paychecks were somehow transferred to ‘other’ accounts. Then someone will get fired. Until it involves money, nothing will happen.
Everything is just fine. Everything will be just fine. Just maintain an even stran.
“Someone will get fired.” You’re far more optimistic then me. If someone does get fired, it’s going to be the GS-7 who put the correct information into the computer or the SES who had just dropped his retirement paperwork and will take one for the team with the understanding that it won’t effect their retirement check or benefits.
Oh, come on, Bobo, I was trying to be as positive as I could about this. I even put the ‘maintain an even strain’ into it.
Once the propaganda machines run out of gas, there won’t be any fuel left to run them.
Nothing to see here, kids, move along.
It’s typical SOP for this administration. Lie first until someone with some integrity leaks it, then lie about the extent of the problem unit the truth finally comes out. So far it’s been what every department and agency has done.
And while everyone is focused on this “squirrel,” the Department of Homeland Security is getting a free pass for a major data breach in the TSA. A sub-contractor got hacked recently and PII given by anyone applying for a TSA clearance was lost. I got the free credit reporting letter a few weeks ago for this. I still have not gotten one from the OPM…
DHS had the same issue, April 2014. Lucky me!
Update: OPM has released their “plan” to protect employees and contractors as well as the people you listed on your application for a clearance. Actually, it’s just a list of steps for closing the barn door after the horses ran far, far away.
Yeah, and in related fudged numbers from da ‘gummint:
8 million “undocumented immigrants” …
Ah, no …
White House let it slip and many on left now concede:
30 million “illegal aliens” …
Just numbers and accounting errors!
As SoS Clinton once asked rhetorically, “at this point, what does it matter?”
Out!
Jonn, Jonn, Jonn. It’s not data theft from a hack attack, the Ministry of Propaganda has declared it “data exfiltration” from a “cyber incident”.
http://twitchy.com/2015/07/10/true-propaganda-you-wont-believe-how-the-opm-refers-to-the-massive-hacking/
You must use the properly approved terms for these things you know.
https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf
They keep saying “and other details” – there are so many friggin’ details, that what I put together below is STILL just a summary!
————–
Name, SSN, other names used, height, weight, hair and eye color…
Passport number. Citizenship info. Then every residence you’ve lived at for the last 10 years, along with the name and address of someone who knew you when you lived there.
(The reference cannot be someone you lived with or are related to, so they’re looking for neighbors or landlords – and references are now limited to residences from the last three years)
All schools since you were 18 years old. All employment for the last 10 years…along with contacts.
Your Selective Service number. Full military history.
Three references, not to include anyone from the earlier references.
Full marital history. Cohabitant information, if you live with someone you’re not married to. Relatives – mom and dad, siblings, step-siblings, foster parents, adopted, foster and step children, parents-in-law and guardians. Their full name, date of birth, place of birth, citizenship, and maiden name for your mother, along with any aliases.
Foreign contacts. “Do you have, or have you had, close and/or continuing contact with a foreign national within the last seven years with whom you, or your spouse/cohabitant are bound by affection, influence, common interests, and/or obligation? Include associates as well as relatives not previously listed above.” Full name, date of first and last contact, methods of contact (in person/telephone/written/electronic/other), frequency of contact (daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly/annually/other), nature of the relationship, their aliases, countries of citizenship, date and place of birth, current address…and whether they are affiliated with a “foreign government, military, security, defense industry, or intelligence service.”
Foreign activity – so do you have bank accounts, stocks, property, investments, corporate interests, etc. in other countries? Type of interest, date acquired, value of the interest, co-owners (with their name/address/citizenship/relationship). These foreign interests apply to you, your spouse/cohabitant, or your dependent children.
Separately, foreign real property.
Foreign educations/medical/retirement/social welfare/other benefits – type, frequency, value, dates, etc.
Have you ever provided financial support to a foreign national? His name/address/relationship/value/frequency/citizenship.
Have you ever provided advice or support to anyone associated with a foreign business? Describe it, name, address, organization, dates.
Anyone in your immediate family (all the way out to step/half siblings) provided advice or consulted, even informally, to any foreign government official/agency? Name of the government official, agency, dates, circumstances of the request.
Offer of a job from a foreign national in the last seven years? Name, position, date, location.
Any other type of business not yet mentioned? Any trade shows, conferences, seminars, meetings outside the US? Any contact with any other government anywhere, you or your family…names, locations, dates. Studied abroad? Held political office abroad? Voted in a foreign election?
Then, list ALL travel outside the United States for the last seven years. Like, that Caribbean cruise; the trip to Windsor for some slots; etc. Country, dates, days there, nature of the visit, and then some standard questions – were you questioned/searched/detained? Involved in any encounters with the cops? Contacted by foreign intelligence, terrorists, military? Involved in counterintelligence? Contacted by someone exhibiting excessive knowledge or undue interest in you? Threatened, coerced, pressured to cooperate with a foreign government official?
And THEN we get to the fun stuff.
Other than voluntary counseling for marital, family, grief or sexual assault, have you consulted with a health care professional regarding an emotional or mental health condition? Dates, name/phone/address/agency of the health care professional.
Admitted as an inpatient? Was it voluntary or involuntary? Ever been declared mentally incompetent? Dates, court, appeals courts, final disposition.
Next up, police records. “For this section report information regardless of whether the record in your case has been sealed, expunged, or otherwise stricken from the court record, or the charge was dismissed.”
This covers the last seven years – have you been issued a summons,citation, ticket to appear in court in a criminal proceeding? Does not include traffic infractions with fines < $300, unless that traffic infraction involved drugs or alcohol. Any arrests? Were you charged, convicted, sentenced of a crime in any court – Federal, state, local, military, non-US? Have you been or are your currently on probation or parole? Currently on trial or awaiting trial?
So, for any of those conditions: date and nature of the offense, whether it involved domestic violence, violence against your child/dependent/cohabitant/spouse/former spouse/baby mama; firearms or explosives; alcohol or drugs; jurisdiction; were you arrested? If so, name of the law enforcement agency. Were you charged/convicted/etc.? What court, jurisdiction. List all the charges. What was the sentence? Dates of incarceration.
Next up, drugs: in the last seven years, have you used any of the following: cocaine, THC, Ketamine, narcotics, steroids, inhalants, etc., etc. Dates of first and last use, frequency of use, etc. Have you trafficked/sold any of them? Have you EVER done drugs while you had a clearance (no seven year limit)? Same with misusing prescription drugs. Ever been ordered to seek counseling for drug use? Who ordered it? What was the drug? Did you take action to receive treatment? Treatment provider, name/phone/address. Did you succesfully complete that treatment? Same questions for voluntarily seeking treatment.
Has alcohol had a negative impact on your work performance/professional or personal relationships/finances, or resulted in intervention by public safety personnel? Been ordered to seek treatment? (Same question cascade)
Have you declared BK in the last seven years? Case number, dates, chapter, dollar amount, court, trustee, results. Ever had financial problems due to gambling? Ever fail to pay taxes required by law or ordinance? "…been counseled, warned, or disciplined for violating the terms of agreement for a travel or credit card provided by your employer?" Going to a credit counseling service?
And then, delinquencies: ever been delinquent on alimony, child support, had a JD entered against you (as sole debtor or cosigner/guarantor), had a lien placed against your property for taxes or other debts, or currently delinquent on any federal debt? Whom do you owe, account number, amount of the debt, reason for the issue, current status, dates, courts, description of what you've done to satisfy the debt – if no actions, then explain why not. Any repossessions, foreclosures, loan defaults? Any bills that went to a collection agency? Any credit cards suspended/charged off/cancelled for failure to pay as agreed?
Evicted for non-payment? Wages/assets garnished? Account numbers, value, reason, current status, how you're satisfying the debt.
"…illegally or without proper authorization accessed or attempted to access any information technology system?" Date, nature, location, description. Modified, destroyed, manipulated or denied others access to information on an IT system illegally or without authorization? Introduced, removed, or used hardware/software/media without authorization when prohibited by rules/guidelines/regulations, or attempted the same? (So have you pirated movies?) Date, nature, location, description. Been in an organization dedicated to terrorism, engaged in acts of terrorism, activities designed to overthrow the US government?
I would like to know if 0bama ever had to fill out an SF-86. Any normal person with a background like his would be denied a clearance.
Boy–that is a really good question? Then again it only covers 10 years for a TS right?
He was awarded his security clearance by the electorate in 2008…
http://news.clearancejobs.com/2012/05/16/do-members-of-congress-have-security-clearances/
Short answer is “no.”
Gee whiz, all that crap you have to fill out, which they could dig up themselves. It’s just such a bother if you make them do it, though.
Glad I retired a while back and don’t have to look for any kind of work unless I want to.
The first rule of stolen SF-86 forms is, apparently, nobody talks about stolen SF-86 forms. This stuff is a gold mine for foreign intelligence, and god forbid any of our UCs are in that system in NOC positions abroad.
With the vast number of managers, department heads, agencies, etc., you’d think someone would be responsible for securing this information before it’s taken just like that.
Want another good laugh… here is OPM’s Mission Statement:
Our mission is to Recruit, Retain and Honor a World-Class Workforce to Serve the American People. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.
I think that they have been failing to meet the goals of their mission statement for quite some time
Yeah, like since the day the mission was published.
She resigned: http://fedtimes.ly/1MkI21T
Good riddance.
Oh so she resigned! Well great. Now the Obama hunt will be on for another liberal ball licker to replace her. Not of course, anyone who knows shit about the OPM, its systems or cyber security. Just another has been, hack who will read off the teleprompter whatever the Obama speech writers tell them to say. I fell better already…NOT! By the way, the news release just upped the number to 22 million people.
Sorry, D. Missed this before posting a similar comment below.
Okay she’s gone. Who was she?
oBaMa “appointed her on May 23, 2013, and she was sworn in on November 4, 2013. She had previously served as National Political Director for Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. Prior to that, she had been Executive Director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation, had co-founded the Latina Initiative….” Wiki
So, her qualifications for the job were what? She was a double-minority find (woman + Latina) and she was Nat’l Political Director for oBaMa’s re-election. Great.
This is what she said in her Senate confirmation hearing: “The most important part of my leadership style is to hold individuals accountable and to hold all individuals responsible for the mission of the agency. “It’s one that has been successful for me over the last 35 years.”
So, according to the update, the OPM has a plan in place. So we all must be good to go then…right? WRONG! The horse left the f’ing barn long ago when they KNEW it involved 21 million people and it’s too late to try to close the door now. The OPM and its Director can lick Obama’s ass all they want. He and they are still doing everything they can think of to f— up everyone in America, bar none. Yes, in lesser agencies it will be coming to a city near you soon as well. The greatest information gleaned by the Chinese was not just the PII of those 21 million, it was the ways in and out of the system. A system tied to every other federal system.
The OPM Director’s resignation news release, referenced in a post above, just upped the number of hacked accounts to 22 million. And the hits just keep on comin’!
If you remember a few years ago even Obama was complaining that they could not get any good IT people hired due to OPM taking 6 month to a year to hire someone. Anybody who was any good was not waiting around for OPM to make a decision. So what we have now is a group of govt employees that no one else would hire in a years time and we wonder why it is a cesspool of corruption and incompetence. If you know anything about OPM it is all about racial quotas and minority hiring regardless of skills or capabilities. Remember the Homeland security guy advocating race wars and the recent HUD jail bird felon hired to sell off properties. I guess GS-13 pay was not enough but will they give veterans priority…never
I know you are all up in arms over this, but I do want to try (at least) to put a positive spin on the biggest fustercluck I’ve seen so far coming out of this lack-of-administration.
The more this kind of crap occurs, the more the air bubbles are burst that have supported the foamy, fraudulent excuse for a government. The same idiocy destroyed Carter and Nixon, and is rapidly destroying bodaprez’s legacy.
Yes, I know: Carter had other buns in the oven, but if you remember gas rationing (I do) and the production of the Chevette Scooter (I do) under Nixon, in addition to Tricky Dick’s ‘lights out at night’ program to save energy, and Carter’s peculiar rictus that was supposed to be a smile in addition to his do-nothing when the chips were really down, you will realize that bodaprez will be remembered for Sequestration (epic fail), for approving ransom assistance (Targets R Us!), and for repeatedly doing and saying stupid things that have backfired on him and will stick to him like glue.
Say goodbye to OPM
Say goodbye now lady
Say goodbye to OPM
Say goodbye now Kathy
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/10/opm-director-katherine-archuleta-resigns/
‘Bout freaking time.
I am going to start filing VA FOIA with the Chinese.
Ask for Hillary’s missing e-mails, too.
Oh you know all too well they have all her “missing” email traffic and they’re just waiting in the wings for the opportune time to drop them on her.
If she gets elected, they’ll make her play ball with all that and support China. If she doesn’t, they’ll start getting “CGI funding support” suddenly…
So you got a douche like Snowden who was just an IT nerd who leaked a bunch of classified materials to the public, and now contractors are required to meet inflated clearances for contract work (TS/SCI clearance and a CI Polygraph for….SharePoint development. Really?) Including actual intel contractors, unlike Snowden, most of them being veterans who have paid their dues and proven their loyalty.
Yet OPM straight up gives China (don’t give me that “hacked” bullshit, the work was outsourced to them) PII of everybody who ever worked in intelligence ever, increasing the possibility of foreign intelligence recruitment attempts, and nobody pays for it? Riiiiiight.
If it weren’t for the fact that I have a family to provide for, I would’ve changed careers years ago.