In the News
Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta. ( Christopher Dilts / Obama for America)
Bipartisan calls are growing on Capitol Hill for the federal personnel director to step down as lawmakers say they're getting few answers to their questions about the hack of the personnel data of every federal worker.
Katherine Archuleta, left, and Andy Ozment, assistant secretary, Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, National Program Preparedness Directorate, Homeland Security Department, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday.
Cliff Owen/Associated Press
Millions of government employee records apparently stolen by Chinese hackers were not encrypted, and software designed to block known computer breaches has not been installed to protect most of the files, officials said Tuesday.
Another key cybersecurity voice in Congress is calling for Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta to step down in the wake of the mega breach at her agency that has rocked the government.
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), who co-chairs the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, on Wednesday joined the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers looking for Archuleta's dismissal.
In 19 months on the job, Archuleta has failed to request the appropriate funds or develop a cyberscurity model based on thwarting the biggest threats, Langevin said.
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Katherine Archuleta, director of the Office of Personnel Management, appeared before the House oversight committee Tuesday to discuss a security breach at the agency believed to have affected the personal data of millions of current and former federal employees. It did not go well for her.
House oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz told the director of the office that manages federal employees that she has "completely and utterly failed" in a Tuesday hearing and later called on her to resign.
The hearing on the recent discovered hacking into the Office of Personnel Management featured bipartisan condemnations of OPM director Katherine Archuleta and calls for reform.
"I'm looking here today for a few good people to come forward, accept responsibility, and resign for the good of the nation," Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu from California said.
The director of the Obama administration's Office of Personnel Management (OPM) entered the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee session ready to convince members that her agency was "driving continued progress on IT modernization."
But the packed Rayburn House Office Building chamber soon became a boxing ring, with all the punches going in one direction — Katherine Archuleta getting hit from the right and the left.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) on Tuesday urged officials from the Office of Personnel Management to resign following the devastating cyberattack that has exposed millions of people's sensitive information.
"I'm looking here today for a few good people to step forward accept responsibility and resign for the good of the nation," he said during a Tuesday morning House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing.
OPM Director Katherine Archuleta and OPM Chief Information Officer testified before the panel.
The Office of Personnel Management headquarters in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson / Getty Images
SAN FRANCISCO – President Obama is facing pressure to retaliate against the hack that captured personal data on millions of federal employees.
"We must deter future attacks by making it clear that the consequences of attacks are not worth hacking into American systems," Sen. Mark Warner said.