Lawmakers still roiling over the two massive breaches of the Office of Personnel Management network aren't satisfied with the resignation of former Director Katherine Archuleta. Loud voices on the Hill are also calling for the head of OPM CIO Donna Seymour for failing to secure the agency's systems.
However, management within OPM and the Office of Management and Budget are standing behind Seymour.
Related: OPM Director Archuleta resigns
"I am fully supportive of the work that Donna and her team are doing," said Tony Scott, the government's top CIO.
Scott's comments came after speaking at an event on the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), which, among other things, gives added responsibility and accountability to agency CIOs. While accountability is important, Scott said firing is not always the answer.
"This is not a case where we can fire our way to success," he said, noting that sends a bad signal to people considering a career in public service. "People want to hold folks accountable – and that's good. But the people who are responsible left a long, long time ago."
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, disagrees in this case.
Letter: House Oversight chairman calls for removal of OPM CIO
He sent a letter to acting OPM Director Beth Cobert on Aug. 6 reiterating his calls for Seymour to step down or be removed.
"Despite repeated warnings from the OPM inspector general, Ms. Seymour failed to prevent breaches of personally-identifiable information, harming over 22 million federal employees and other individuals and weakening our national security," Chaffetz wrote.
He also cited a July 22 IG report that called out Seymour's office for hindering the investigators' work by giving the OIG "incorrect and/or misleading information."
IG Report: Serious Concerns Regarding the Office of the Chief Information Officer
"Ms. Seymour has already failed the American people with her inability to secure OPM's networks and to learn that her office may be actively interfering with the work of the inspector general only adds insult to injury," Chaffetz wrote.
In response to the IG report Cobert, like Scott, asserted her support for Seymour.
"Since Ms. Symour's arrival at OPM in late 2013, OPM has undertaken an aggressive effort to upgrade the agency's cybersecurity posture, adding numerous tools and capabilities to its various legacy networks," said OPM Press Secretary Samuel Schumach. "As acting Director Cobert indicated in her response to the inspector general, in her first four weeks at OPM she has observed that the team, including the Office of the Chief Information Officer … has been working incredibly hard to enhance the security of our information technology systems and support those who have been affected by the recent cybersecurity incidents."
Aaron Boyd is an awarding-winning journalist currently serving as editor of Federal Times — a Washington, D.C. institution covering federal workforce and contracting for more than 50 years — and Fifth Domain — a news and information hub focused on cybersecurity and cyberwar from a civilian, military and international perspective.
