United States Office of Human Resources (OPM)

History

2022: Payment of $63 million to citizens for leaking their data

On October 26, 2022, the US Federal Court approved the terms of the agreement in the case of a massive data leak from the information systems of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). More than $60 million will be allocated for compensation payments to affected users.

Two incidents involving the theft of personal information about civil servants were reported by OPM in June 2015, although hacker attacks were carried out earlier - in 2014. At the disposal of cybercriminals were the personal files of all current and former government workers at that time. The second hack made it possible to obtain personal information about all applicants for admission to secret data, as well as about their family members.

The US department will pay citizens for the leakage of their data

Initially, it was said that about 4 million personnel records were stolen during the attacks. Then it became known that the scale of the hacks was greatly downplayed: a total of 22.1 million people were injured. Moreover, the attackers were able to steal the fingerprints of approximately 5.6 million government employees, which dealt a strong blow to security.

The victims filed a class action lawsuit, but the investigation dragged on. And now federal judge Amy Berman Jackson has approved compensation for victims totaling $63 million. Individual payments will range from $700 to $10,000. At the same time, employees whose personal information was in the hands of hackers need to prove that they not only became victims of hacking, but also suffered monetary costs and (or) moral damage.

Applications for compensation must be submitted by December 23, 2022. After that, almost all of the 22.1 million victims will no longer be eligible to file lawsuits against OPM or its contractor Peraton Risk Decision Inc. The exception applies to only 114 people who actively demanded that their names be removed from the settlement agreement.^[1]

Notes

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