The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) — an independent federal agency — announced June 4 that it recently became aware of a cybersecurity incident that may have compromised the personal information of current and former federal employees.
The personally identifiable information of approximately 4 million current and former federal employees was potentially compromised, according to OPM. The Postal Service doesn’t know if current or former postal employees were affected. From June 8-19, OPM will send notifications to all 4 million individuals whose information was potentially compromised.
The email will come from opmcio@csid.com and contain information regarding credit monitoring and identity theft protection services being provided to those federal employees affected by the data breach. If OPM doesn’t have an email address for an individual on file, a standard letter will be sent via the Postal Service.
OPM became aware of the incident in April, according to the announcement. Since then, the agency has partnered with the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team and the FBI to determine the effect on federal personnel. OPM said it also implemented additional security measures to protect the sensitive information it manages.
To mitigate the risk of fraud and identity theft, OPM is offering affected individuals credit monitoring services and identity theft insurance with CSID, a company that specializes in identity theft protection and fraud resolution. This comprehensive, 18-month membership includes credit report access, credit monitoring, identity theft insurance, and recovery services and is available immediately at no cost to affected individuals identified by OPM.
Additional information is available beginning June 8 at 8 a.m. Central time on CSID’s website and by calling 844-222-2743.
For additional information, including steps on monitoring identity and financial information, visit OPM’s site.