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Purveyor

(29,876 posts) Wed Sep 23, 2015, 12:54 PM Sep 2015

Hackers of U.S. Personnel Records Got 5.6 Million Fingerprints

Source: Bloomberg

Chris Strohm
September 23, 2015 — 10:38 AM EDT

- Fingerprints increasingly used to access devices, buildings
- Announcement comes as U.S., China leaders prepare to meet

The fingerprint records of about 5.6 million current and former federal workers, contractors and job applicants were stolen in the breach of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s computer system, up from an initial estimate of 1.1 million, the agency said Wednesday.

The breach is significant because fingerprints are increasingly being used by government agencies, corporations and consumers for access to computers, buildings and other devices.

“Federal experts believe that, as of now, the ability to misuse fingerprint data is limited,” Samuel Schumach, a spokesman for OPM, which is the federal government’s jobs agency, said in a statement. “However, this probability could change over time as technology evolves.”

U.S. officials and private cybersecurity experts believe the OPM breach, which compromised data on 21.5 million individuals, was carried out by the Chinese government. The announcement Wednesday comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping is in the U.S. and plans to hold a summit with President Barack Obama on Friday. Cybersecurity is one of the top items that will be discussed.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-23/hackers-of-u-s-personnel-records-got-5-6-million-fingerprints?module=TopNews&position=5_headline

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Hackers of U.S. Personnel Records Got 5.6 Million Fingerprints (Original Post) Purveyor Sep 2015 OP

Should have put them on Hillary's server. JoePhilly Sep 2015 #1

OPM says 5.6 million fingerprints stolen in cyberattack, five times as many as previously thought mahatmakanejeeves Sep 2015 #2

Oh, goodie! Le Taz Hot Sep 2015 #3

JoePhilly

(27,787 posts)

1. Should have put them on Hillary's server.

Reply to Purveyor (Original post)

Wed Sep 23, 2015, 12:57 PM

Sep 2015

Probably would have been safer!!

mahatmakanejeeves

(57,499 posts)

2. OPM says 5.6 million fingerprints stolen in cyberattack, five times as many as previously thought

Reply to Purveyor (Original post)

Wed Sep 23, 2015, 02:06 PM

Sep 2015

OPM says 5.6 million fingerprints stolen in cyberattack, five times as many as previously thought

The Switch

By Andrea Peterson September 23 at 12:28 PM

One of the scariest parts of the massive cybersecurity breaches at the Office of Personnel Management just got worse: The agency now says 5.6 million people's fingerprints were stolen as part of the hacks.

That's more than five times the 1.1 million government officials estimated when the cyberattacks were initially disclosed over the summer. However, OPM said Wednesday the total number of those believed to be caught up in the breaches, which included the theft of the Social Security numbers and addresses of more than 21 million former and current government employees, remains the same.

OPM and the Department of Defense were reviewing the theft of background investigation records when they identified additional fingerprint data that had been exposed, OPM said in a statement.

Breaches involving biometric data like fingerprints are particularly concerning to privacy experts because of their permanence: Unlike passwords and even Social Security numbers, fingerprints cannot be changed. So those affected by this breach may find themselves grappling with the fallout for years.

Yes, the New York Times' headline makes more sense if you don't know your acronyms, but the WaPo will have more of an inside angle to the story.

Hackers Took Fingerprints of 5.6 Million US Workers, Government Says

Le Taz Hot

(22,271 posts)

3. Oh, goodie!

Reply to Purveyor (Original post)

Wed Sep 23, 2015, 02:11 PM

Sep 2015

Now, not only do they have my name, address, ss#, mother's maiden name, emergency contact information and my entire history, NOW they have my fingerprints. And the Republicans are, once again sabre rattling about shutting down the gummit they hate so much but which currently employs them. The last shut down we were down for 3 weeks and were promised back pay. I got $12.00. Ain't that a bitch? ("Bitch" being used in a non-misogynist, gender-neutral kind of way.)

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