Private information of congressional members was subject to a massive cybersecurity attack that affected not just House politicians and their staff but also Senate employees.
The sergeant-at-arms advised Senate staff to freeze their family credit to prevent fraud, saying that the leaked data is “substantial” and includes private information including Social Security numbers, home addresses, and details on Senate employees’ health insurance policies.
The email stated that the sergeant-at-arms was contacting Senate personnel on a list of those whose data had been stolen from law enforcement so they may safeguard themselves against fraud.
A DC health insurance service was impacted by the breach, which also involved hundreds of US House members and staff.
The information that Senate staff’s private details was also exposed will further heighten the pressure on Capitol Hill for DC Health Link, the impacted insurance provider, to give a detailed account of how the hack happened.
The event is being investigated thoroughly, according to DC Health Link, which also stated on Wednesday that it is collaborating with police enforcement. According to the bureau, the FBI is investigating the matter.
Legislators were instantly concerned that they would suffer identity theft, just like many other Americans have in recent years, but it is unknown how the data was accessed or who committed the breach.
According to McCarthy, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have written to DC Health Link to voice their alarm over the breach.
Some exhibited less fright.
I really can’t get heated up about this, a Senate worker told on Thursday.
The staff member went on to say that China “had all my data already in the OPM hack,” alluding to the Office of Personnel Management leak that affected millions of US federal personnel records in 2014-2015. American officials have attributed the attack to Chinese hackers, a claim Beijing has refuted.
This week, someone claimed to have sold the data belonging to DC Health Link on a well-known site for cybercrime.
