Journalists swept up in OPM data theft

The government is notifying journalists that their personal information may have been stolen in the massive hack of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) revealed this spring, according to The Washington Post.

{mosads}The breach was thought to have exposed 21.5 million current and former federal employees and contractors, and in some cases, family members.

But journalists seeking access to the Defense Department, the White House and the CIA also have their backgrounds thoroughly vetted.

Journalists seeking access to those sensitive agencies have received notification letters in recent weeks, alerting them that their information may have been compromised in the hack and urging them to sign up for free credit monitoring and identity theft protection.

“Many of the background investigations that OPM conducts are for suitability for federal employment and security, not just for a security clearance,” an agency spokesman told the Post. “Many individuals, including reporters who need long-term access to federal buildings, may undergo a routine background check in order to obtain valid credentials.”

The kind of lower-level background check that journalists undergo requires a Social Security number, date of birth, address and fingerprinting.

A senior OPM official said that the agency performs hundreds of thousands of this kind of check each year.

The agency last week announced that it has completed mailing notification letters to the victims of the hack.

The agency said Friday that it has sent letters to about 93 percent of the people who had their Social Security number and other sensitive information stolen, and will continue to search for better addresses for the remainder of the people affected.