Data breach hits ‘hundreds’ of lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill
A letter from House leaders obtained by NBC News said the FBI was able to purchase some of the hacked material on the dark web.
A top House official said that a “significant data breach” at the health insurance marketplace for Washington, D.C., on Tuesday potentially exposed personal identifiable information of hundreds of lawmakers and staff.
In a letter obtained by NBC News, Chief Administrative Officer Catherine L. Szpindor said Wednesday that the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI had alerted her to a data breach at DC Health Link, the Affordable Care Act online marketplace that administers health care plans for members of Congress and certain Capitol Hill staff.
“Currently, I do not know the size and scope of the breach, but have been informed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that account information and [personally identifiable information] of hundreds of Member and House staff were stolen,” Szpindor said. “I expect to have access to the list of impacted enrollees later today and will notify you directly if your information was compromised.”
Szpindor added that it did not appear that House lawmakers were “the specific target of the attack” on DC Health Link.
continue reading »
