U.S. Office of Personnel
Management officials recently awarded to ID Experts a contract encompassing a
comprehensive suite of identity theft and credit monitoring services for
compromised victims, agency officials announced yesterday during a media
conference call.
Beth Cobert, OPM’s acting
director, said the most recent data breach was one of the largest cyber crimes
ever carried out against the U.S. government and she pledged to provide impacted
parties individualized notices about obtaining additional credit monitoring
services at no cost.
All 21.5 million impacted
individuals and their minor dependent children “are now covered for identity
theft insurance and identity restoration services,” she said.
ID Theft, Fraud Protection Services
“Once notifications have been
received,” Cobert added,” I hope people will take advantage of the
comprehensive identity theft and fraud protection services we are providing to
the victims of these crimes.”
These notifications, she said,
will begin by the end of September and continue over the following weeks.
Navy Rear Adm. Allie Coetzee,
DoD’s principal deputy for defense procurement and acquisition, said the
contract immediately covers individuals with $1 million in insurance, as well
as restoration services in cases following discovery of further compromise to
information or identity.
“Individuals who elect to can
sign up for three years of credit monitoring and identity theft protection
through contractor services,” Coetzee said.
OPM has partnered with
experts across government to take significant strides in securing IT systems
and guarding against future attacks, the admiral explained.
“OPM is … committed to
helping those whose personal information was stolen by providing them with
high-quality identity theft and credit protection services free of charge,” she
said.
Colbert noted that due to the
nature of breached information, OPM offers individuals the option to enroll
their minor dependent children for credit monitoring and other services.
Commitment to Protect Information
OPM’s acting director noted
that she has a personal stake in the matter as part of OPM’s commitment to
protecting the security federal employees and contractors’ information.
“As one of the millions of
people who had their own personal information stolen, I completely understand
and share the concern and frustration people are feeling,” she said. “I'm sorry
about the concern this breach has caused and want to assure everyone impacted
that we are doing all in our power to support those individuals victimized by
this cybercrime.”
Cobert praised the collaboration
between the U.S. General Services Administration and the Defense Department in
the development and execution of the contract.
“DOD in particular is best
positioned to deliver the quality and volume of support to these cybercrime
victims,” she said.
(Follow Amaani Lyle on
Twitter: @LyleDoDNews)