In 2015, the **Office of Personnel Management (OPM)** suffered a catastrophic cyber breach attributed to Chinese state-sponsored hackers, exposing the sensitive personal data of **21.5 million individuals**, including federal employees, contractors, and their families. The compromised records included **Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses, fingerprints (1.1 million), financial details, and medical histories**—some of the most valuable data on the dark web. The breach left victims vulnerable to lifelong identity theft, financial fraud, and espionage risks. Despite legislative mandates (e.g., Warner’s identity protection services), OPM faced pressure in 2024 to dismantle post-breach safeguards under budget cuts by the **Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)**, risking further victimization. The attack’s scale and persistence of stolen data—particularly biometric and health records—highlighted systemic failures in federal cybersecurity, with repercussions extending beyond financial harm to national security threats. Senator Mark Warner warned that terminating protective measures would exacerbate the **permanent exposure** of affected individuals, emphasizing the breach’s irreversible damage.
Source: https://therecord.media/opm-federal-employee-data-protection-contracts-2015-hack-warner
U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/opm
"id": "OPM1461714111725",
"linkid": "opm",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "6/2015",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization’s existence"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '21.5 million (federal '
'employees, contractors, and '
'family members)',
'industry': 'Government / Human Resources',
'location': 'United States',
'name': 'Office of Personnel Management (OPM)',
'type': 'Federal Agency'}],
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes',
'number_of_records_exposed': '21.5 million (PII); 1.1 million '
'(fingerprints/financial/medical)',
'personally_identifiable_information': 'Yes (SSNs, '
'birthdates, '
'addresses)',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'Extremely High',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personally Identifiable '
'Information (PII)',
'Biometric Data (fingerprints)',
'Financial Records',
'Medical/Health Records']},
'date_detected': '2015',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2015',
'description': 'A massive cyberattack in 2015 compromised sensitive personal '
'data of 21.5 million federal employees and others, including '
'Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses, fingerprints, '
'and financial/medical records for 1.1 million individuals. '
'The breach was attributed to China, and the exposed '
'data—particularly fingerprints and health records—remains '
'highly valuable on the dark web, posing lifelong risks to '
'affected individuals. Identity protection services were '
'established via congressional legislation to mitigate ongoing '
'threats, but recent budget cuts by the Department of '
'Government Efficiency (DOGE) threaten to dismantle these '
'protections.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Severe (long-term distrust in federal '
'data security)',
'data_compromised': ['Social Security numbers (21.5 million)',
'Birthdates (21.5 million)',
'Addresses (21.5 million)',
'Fingerprints (1.1 million)',
'Financial records (1.1 million)',
'Medical records (1.1 million)'],
'identity_theft_risk': 'High (lifelong risk for 21.5 million '
'individuals)',
'payment_information_risk': 'Moderate (financial records of 1.1 '
'million exposed)'},
'initial_access_broker': {'data_sold_on_dark_web': 'Yes (fingerprints and '
'health records noted as '
'highly valuable)',
'high_value_targets': 'Federal employee PII, '
'biometric data, and health '
'records.'},
'investigation_status': 'Closed (attribution to China widely accepted but not '
'formally confirmed)',
'lessons_learned': 'Lifelong risks from breached biometric/health data '
'highlight the need for sustained identity protection; '
'federal agencies must prioritize long-term remediation '
'over short-term cost-cutting.',
'motivation': 'Espionage / Data Theft',
'post_incident_analysis': {'corrective_actions': ['Legislated identity '
'protection services for '
'victims.',
'OPM cybersecurity overhaul '
'(post-breach).',
'Ongoing monitoring for '
'affected individuals '
'(though now at risk due to '
'budget cuts).'],
'root_causes': ['Inadequate cybersecurity defenses '
'at OPM (2015)',
'Failure to encrypt sensitive '
'personnel data.',
'Lack of multi-factor '
'authentication or advanced threat '
'detection.']},
'recommendations': ['Maintain identity protection services for all 21.5 '
'million affected individuals indefinitely.',
'Enhance federal cybersecurity protocols to prevent '
'future breaches of sensitive personnel data.',
"Conduct regular audits of OPM's data security posture.",
"Expand legislative protections for federal employees' "
'data.'],
'references': [{'source': "Sen. Mark Warner's Letter to OPM (2024)"},
{'source': 'Congressional Legislation (Post-2015 Breach)'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'legal_actions': 'Congressional legislation enacted '
'to mandate identity protection '
'services'},
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Congressional notifications (e.g., '
"Sen. Mark Warner's letter to OPM)",
'incident_response_plan_activated': 'Yes (post-breach)',
'remediation_measures': 'Identity theft monitoring and '
'protection services (legislated via '
'congressional spending bill)',
'third_party_assistance': 'Yes (identity protection services '
'contracted)'},
'stakeholder_advisories': "Sen. Mark Warner's warning to OPM against "
'discontinuing identity protection services (2024).',
'threat_actor': 'China (alleged)',
'title': '2015 Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Data Breach',
'type': 'Data Breach'}