The chairman of a House subcommittee overseeing federal government operations is calling on Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta to resign for failing to protect the personal data of millions of federal workers.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on government operations, said Archuleta “failed to implement cybersecurity recommendations” issued by the agency’s inspector general, which led to the theft of data from up to 4 million current and former federal workers.
“OPM officials were well aware of the vulnerabilities within the agency’s IT security systems, yet failed to address them,” Meadows said in a statement on Wednesday. “Under Director Archuleta’s leadership, OPM disregarded an inspector general’s recommendations to improve its cybersecurity infrastructure, and now millions of federal workers, including military officials, are having to pay the price for the director’s unwillingness to address the issue.”
Meadows’ statement came a day after House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz told reporters that the OPM director should either resign or be sent packing by the Obama administration.
Archuleta faced angry lawmakers in a House Oversight Committee hearing Tuesday. She told them OPM was unable to use encryption to protect the social security numbers of federal employees because the computer system was outdated.
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She also refused to take the blame for the breach, and instead said a government-wide effort is needed to stop these cyberthreats.
OPM revealed the theft earlier this month, but the Obama administration has not said officially who was behind it. Anonymous administration officials have been reported saying the hack originated in China.
