The FEHBlog watched (thanks to the Internet) most of the nearly three hour long Congressional hearing on the OPM data breach.  The FEHBlog’s takeaway (as a small businessperson) was the importance of a reliable IT security expert because there are a lot of moving parts to this problem. Also be careful about what you store on the computer. If you simply need to store sensitive documents, use a filing cabinet, at least for the time being.

OPM at the hearing contended that the root of its problem is outdated computer networks. However, according to media reports, which the FEHBlog previously has noted, the hackers who “exfiltrated” data from OPM also exfiltrated data from Anthem and Premera which certainly have modern systems and like OPM heavy security.

The fallout from the hearing has not not been favorable for OPM as Federal News Radio reports.  The Washington Post reports about widespread and valid criticism of OPM’s remedial approach of sending breach notification emails to affected individuals.