{"id":27305,"date":"2024-02-06T19:48:11","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T19:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/02\/06\/hit-by-opms-data-breach-bill-offers-feds-free-id-protection-for-life\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:18:12","slug":"hit-by-opms-data-breach-bill-offers-feds-free-id-protection-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2024\/02\/06\/hit-by-opms-data-breach-bill-offers-feds-free-id-protection-for-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Hit by OPM\u2019s data breach? Bill offers feds free ID protection for life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C., is working to preempt the expiration of a provision that offers free identity protection to millions of federal employees and their families whose data was exposed in a cybersecurity breach in 2015.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the incident lay bare the personnel records of more than 20 million federal employees<\/a>, job applicants and their family members in networks maintained by the Office of Personnel Management, the agency and a contractor, Peraton Risk Decision Inc., were sued in a class action. The defendants denied wrongdoing and ended up settling for $63 million. As of December, the first round of distributions for payments were initiated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the years since the attack, which was believed to have been led by Chinese hackers, Congress has approved in appropriations bills free lifetime identity protection coverage to those compromised. The requirement to offer this service expires in fiscal 2027, and Norton\u2019s proposed bill would make that indefinite. <\/p>\n\n\n\t