[S-99]

Well, i don't put any blame on opm getting hacked in this case. You can only afford the kind of tech support and IT infrastructure that you can. In other words, enough low dollars coming in to provide enough security that a winme deployment can potentially provide. ****, maybe if they weren't under funded for so long to barely stay in operation they'd be better than doing less with less (because everything government related in america really is shifting away from do more with less).

And ****, does a number really matter for those that were hung out to dry by those who took the information and then out to dry a second time with by my government offered nothing more than 18 months of credit monitoring. This recession sucks so much balls, that i'm disappointed that there's no real way to monetize that without getting into trouble very fast and easily!

All current federal workers around the planet, former federal workers (myself), and who knows how many troops if not all of them have no future financial security. In fact, the dynamics of so many of these american's futures, including myself has been nearly turned upside down. That someone posing as me at any moment in time can effectively take everything.

That's ok, it's not just opm that's getting under funded, and it will not be just current and former federal workers (government contractors and troops) who are going to be ****ed later on.

I also hold no disrespect whoever got the data. A lot of people on one hell of an intelligence gathering got promoted and had pay raises. Good for them, i would even like to have a beer with them. I have no ill will for them. Hell, which one of us, if we were hackers wouldn't go after that easy to get gold mine?

I'm pissed about what's being done about this at home. I got a letter in the mail with a code to use my free 18 months of million dollar coverage for identity theft and credit monitoring, and that this letter even states that the letter is not to be taken as meaning that the US government nor opm are liable (**** YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!). The rest of the letter is normal information about how to protect your identity, what practices to undertake for the future and current time, blablabla. I know damn well what and who are liable. And this lack of owning up is transferring the liability to me and so many others.

Essentially...
We're sorry for what we did, we're also not the cause of this problem. You have a bleak future now, here's some crackers, it's all up to you, good luck, go on your way now.

This might be crude, but at least a step in the right direction for fixing a big part of the problem. All people affected getting mandatory new social security numbers. As in, you open up a letter and there's your new social security number whether you like it or not, and then go about updating credentials with banks and so on when you have the time (because reality is much worse without at least this happening).

I can get a new social security number for the reason of identity theft. However, i am used to talking to a lot of stupid numb****s. My understanding and experience with reality is that there's a good chance i will be denied getting a new ****ing number for myself because there's no proof for or against that anyone other than me is using my information (because morons don't understand hardening, security, best practices, and preparing for the worst (they also don't understand doing their jobs)). Most morons will also try to say the situation isn't as bad as it sounds (most ****s who utter this phrase for a response are so wrong).

I mean, mother****er. I have and will continue to take care of myself better than dropping the ball with underfunding such paramount information holders. It is not something you will ever drop the ball on if you're smart and vigilant. But, indeed the people who decided that funding opm the tiniest amount of money for them to barely operate dropped it for me (in this case, it was a bar of soap, not a ball). Then get told you're on your own.

I'm going to go down to a court house and change my first name to ****ed, and last name as dropsoap. The tiny amount of solus for me is that i am slightly less ****ed than those with security clearances (i don't even like saying that, but it's true).

May god be with us all.

[Klaustrophobia]

The government bureaucracy just doesn't give a ****.  I absolutely DO blame them for this reason.  I've posted before about what a joke the government's cyber security is.  It could be improved tenfold without spending a dime.  But as with everything else in the government, it's all about meaningless perception, not actual effect.  Bigger passwords are better right?  Yeah, just make them use bigger passwords.  With numbers.  And caps.  And special characters.  In specific places.  And we have to make sure they don't use the same password when they change it every month, so we need to store all the old ones.


You know what, let's just give them a list of 20 passwords and make them pick one.  That's probably best.  After all, none of them are in the security department so they don't know what they are doing.  I worked 20 long years as a welder to get where I am.



Really, nothing sums up the depth of the government apathy as well as the response to this whole mess.  TWO MONTHS before they said anything.  My notification came in an unsecured email that was sent to the junk folder by the government's own filters.  This email is literally the ONLY one that's ever been filtered for me.  The unsecure transmission opened the door for a massive wave of phishing.  I don't doubt for a second many workers fell for it.  About a week after this insanity kicked off, they finally realized they ****ed up huge and issued a half-hearted advice column.  "We're sorry we sent these out in a way that fully demonstrated we STILL have no ****ing idea what we're doing security wise.  Here's some stuff you shouldn't do.  If you've already done any of that, well, ****.  Sorry.  We guess.  Call this number.  Yeah, the one number for all 4.2 million of you."

[Bobboau]

ok.. you, you guys need to start over.
Like. Try explaining what you are talking about as if you were engaging with people who had no context as to the subject. Maybe an explanation of what happened.

[S-99]

The government bureaucracy just doesn't give a ****.  I absolutely DO blame them for this reason.  I've posted before about what a joke the government's cyber security is.  It could be improved tenfold without spending a dime.  But as with everything else in the government, it's all about meaningless perception, not actual effect.  Bigger passwords are better right?  Yeah, just make them use bigger passwords.  With numbers.  And caps.  And special characters.  In specific places.  And we have to make sure they don't use the same password when they change it every month, so we need to store all the old ones.


You know what, let's just give them a list of 20 passwords and make them pick one.  That's probably best.  After all, none of them are in the security department so they don't know what they are doing.  I worked 20 long years as a welder to get where I am.

No ****

It's really funny how the biggest and most serious of things to have happened is just being brushed off like nothing and going onto other news.

How far down the rabbit hole for all current government contractors, troops, current federal employees, and former federal employees does this go?

It goes really really deep, and even real fast into the areas we don't know about that we can speculate upon, people with security clearances and other kinds of serious clearances are definitely the people who's information that is imperative you don't want outside of america in different hands (not to mention anything classified, super top secret bull****). Oh, and **** that privacy act bull**** paper work, that ASKS FOR EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU!!!! Can't forget eqip either. Oh, and don't forget your government email account with way too many secret questions that only putting in real information will be the only way to remember the answers to for 20 some odd or more too many verification bull****s.

Removing yourself from the problem, most can be done legally, but not all.

Our mattresses have become more secure than an american bank for storing money. Not to do that, but basicly something superior like an overseas account in a country where it's not necessary to use your real information to create an account. Either way, funds need to start moving even if it is a temporary mattress. And in america, becareful moving even a dollar of cash. Police say "highway interdiction mother****ers!!!!". Time to start hiding what you make somewhere secure.

Get a different social security number.

Start minimizing your online presence asap!!! Go through secret questions, consider deleting accounts for stuff that you weren't using under the guise of anonymity. Consider getting replacement accounts if necessary. Not much will be able to be kept.

Disappear. End your identity (seriously considering this one). I had a hard time believing in my country over the past 10 years with everything steadily getting worse slowly, until this hack takes the cake. Sure people have been fleeced over the last 35 years through all sorts of simple and complicated situations. But, now it's basicly guaranteed for millions that the rug can be pulled out from under your feet and more just for having worked somewhere. I can't believe in something that purports being great, mighty, and powerful when i am greater, mightier, and more powerful.

Regard for laws? I started giving two less ****s about things when I left alaska. Rich people have a disregard for this ****, fine, then i do to! And life has been happier.

ok.. you, you guys need to start over.
Like. Try explaining what you are talking about as if you were engaging with people who had no context as to the subject. Maybe an explanation of what happened.

We are of the many current and former federal workers that got ****ed from opm getting hacked. It's actually quite very serious. This is the dynamic of our understanding; the affected.

[Polpolion]

ok.. you, you guys need to start over.
Like. Try explaining what you are talking about as if you were engaging with people who had no context as to the subject. Maybe an explanation of what happened.

Long story short, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management was hacked and detailed personal information regarding over 20 million government workers and contractors. Worse still, many of the people whose information was taken have jobs that give them access to sensitive government information. The very reason the government collected this information was to make sure their employees and contractors were trustworthy and not especially susceptible to coercion or blackmail. As a result, the whole process by which an individual gets cleared (or re-cleared) to access sensitive information has been halted.

[Bobboau]

We are of the many current and former federal workers that got ****ed from opm getting hacked. It's actually quite very serious. This is the dynamic of our understanding; the affected.

after reading this I have been made aware of the fact that you are upset.

Long story short, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management was hacked and detailed personal information regarding over 20 million government workers and contractors. Worse still, many of the people whose information was taken have jobs that give them access to sensitive government information. The very reason the government collected this information was to make sure their employees and contractors were trustworthy and not especially susceptible to coercion or blackmail. As a result, the whole process by which an individual gets cleared (or re-cleared) to access sensitive information has been halted.

after reading this I have been made aware of the fact that:
OPM stands for Office of Personnel Management.
a vast amount of information on 20 million people was stolen by parties unknown.
these people were disproportionately in sensitive positions.
certification of people in sensitive positions has been halted as a result.

winner: Polpolion

[SypheDMar]

Not here to add insult to injury. I hope you're all alright and nothing awful will happen.

[Klaustrophobia]

I'm markedly less worried than I perhaps should be, for a couple of flimsy reasons.  First, if this really was done by China or any other state, the goal is in all likelihood the security clearance/sensitive info access, not financials.  Second, safety in numbers.  Out of 20 million people, what are the odds I'm targeted specifically? 

As for context, I thought this was a big enough event pretty much everyone would be aware of it.

[S-99]

after reading this I have been made aware of the fact that you are upset.

I know i just don't care.

I'm markedly less worried than I perhaps should be, for a couple of flimsy reasons.  First, if this really was done by China or any other state, the goal is in all likelihood the security clearance/sensitive info access, not financials.  Second, safety in numbers.  Out of 20 million people, what are the odds I'm targeted specifically? 

As for context, I thought this was a big enough event pretty much everyone would be aware of it.

What you say about what china is most likely true, so is the safety in numbers to a point. There's plenty of us who are really boring on paper that aren't going to matter after all. Suspicious thinking tells aside from government secrets, in the least that that's a lot of burner use identities to last a long time. Logicly, some people lower on the totem pole in the stolen fed database will get boned from identity theft. I think of this as likely because for nothing at all to happen to people like me and you would be a really really lucky outcome.

I don't deal in luck. So, i treat myself as though i was boned a second time (the scenario where my information is being used for someone else's nefarious purposes). This isn't at all a situation where you just go on with your daily life.

This is not an easy problem to think of when and what to start going after whatever solution i believe best.

Conspiracy thinking tells me chinese economic and intelligence warfare (that would be nation breaking). Oh, this one's most likely really far off, probably make for a great movie thriller

[Scotty]

I'd still check your bank accounts frequently.  Had some charges pop up on mine from Iowa City, to which I've never been and to which I hope I never go.  Gonna get that cleared up in the morning.