DC Health Link Hack Exposed Sensitive Data On Members Of Congress – SlashGear

Major hacks targeting government employees have happened before. Two major hacks took place in 2015, both probable cyberattacks by Chinese state actors. The first attack targeted the Office of Personnel Management, exposing the private information of over 4 million civil servants, while another attack exposed data collected in the course of performing federal background checks and security clearances. In this case, while DC Health Link is district-run rather than a federal agency, its role as a health insurance marketplace to Washington DC may allow hackers to expose private information on a nationwide scale.

As yet, the full consequences of this hack are unknown. As of March 9, the self-identified hacker, who used the alias “thekilob” in the course of attempting to sell the information, is not known to have either used or sold any data at the time of writing. DC Health Link has already begun an internal investigation, assisted by the FBI. According to AP, DC Health Link has also informed all potentially affected customers, providing credit protection and anti-identity theft tools.