It is the cyberattack no American wants to hear about. The United States Postal Office (USPS) has become a victim of a massive cyberattack that has compromised data for 2.9 million customers and over 750,000 employees and retirees. The agency is contacting all current employees and retirees to notify of the breach, and will also cover the cost of credit monitoring for any individuals impacted by the attack. Employees faced the biggest risks, since part of the data intrusion included social security numbers, names and addresses. The USPS released a statement, dated today, remarking on the breach.
The statement advised the agency immediately got into contact with the FBI to investigate the breach, currently USPS is operating at normal capabilities, without delays in service.
Media sources share it is possible the source of the breach stemmed from China. The Washington Post penned an article regarding the link to China. Reportedly, while the country swiftly denies any attachments, they have been linked to other breaches, such as the one that took place for the Office of Personnel Management. Interestingly enough, officials share the hackers seemed to have little to no interest in payment information stored in the systems.
For customers the breach impact is less than the employees. Credit card information stored online and made over the phone was not accessed. Rather, it appears to be targeted moreso at names, emails, phone numbers and addresses, and the details of employee records. The breach reportedly took place from January 1, 2014 through August 15, 2014.
The breach was discovered in mid-September but was not announced until recently. The reports surfaced ahead of President Obama’s with Beijing’s President Xi Jinping, on Monday.
When Congress received notification of the possible breach in the last few weeks, they sent a memo to the USPS General, requesting more information on the breach and the impact. There has been an increase of cyberattacks against companies and agencies this year, including Home Depot, Neiman Marcus and several other retailers.
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings, stated the increase of breaches truly highlights “the need for greater collaboration to improve data security.”
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