The Office of Personnel Management is increasing the offering of credit monitoring to employees affected in the second breach from a single year to at least three years, though legislators are saying this is still not enough.
Four Democratic senators have come together to put forward legislation that would provide lifetime credit monitoring and at least $5 million in identity theft insurance, compared to the $1 million currently being offered.
More: Feds worried insurance doesn't cover OPM breach
The Reducing the Effects of the Cyberattack on OPM Victims Emergency Response (RECOVER) Act was introduced on Thursday by Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Tim Kaine, D-Va.
The senators said they were outraged by the OPM breach, as well as the agency's response, which they deem inadequate.
"Private-sector cyber hacks and cyberattacks have become too commonplace, but when the federal government's own computer system shows its vulnerabilities to the world, we have a responsibility to protect the people who have been put at risk," Cardin said. "We need to plug the holes in the federal network and make sure our workers, their families and all those who have been violated are held harmless from any damage that may be done."
OPM Data Breach: What You Need to Know
The staggering scope of the second breach – which affected almost 20 million current, former and potential federal employees and another 2 million family members and friends – along with the kinds of personal information stolen moved the lawmakers to ensure everyone affected is fully protected.
"[Thursday's] news that 21.5 million additional Americans were affected by one of the OPM breaches is a stark reminder of how far-reaching the impact is here," Kaine said. "The least we can do for the millions of past, current and prospective federal employees whose personal information has been exposed is provide them with the strongest protections available."
More: OPM breach affected 22 million Americans
Along with added protections under the RECOVER Act, Warner also called for the resignation of OPM Director Katherine Archuleta Thursday, criticizing her response to the breach.
"The technological and security failures at the Office of Personnel Management predate this director's term but Director Archuleta's slow and uneven response has not inspired confidence that she is the right person to manage OPM through this crisis," he said.
During a call with reporters Thursday, Archuleta said she has no intention of stepping down from her position and also reaffirmed her support for OPM CIO Donna Seymour.
More: Archuleta says she won't resign in wake of OPM breach
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.
