National Security Breach—22 Million Exposed
A massive breach of government files compromised the personal data of millions of people.
By Jesse Newman, Marketing —
National security should be a priority in any government, especially during times of war and conflict. Unfortunately, as the US continues to take part in one of the longest wars this country has ever seen, the government has proven to be deficient and vulnerable. A massive breach of government files compromised the personal data of millions of people last year. In response to this, and other cyber-attacks, the Obama administration has committed to establish a new agency to conduct background checks on employees and contractors.
A New Federal Agency
Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and other sensitive information of 22 million current and former federal employees and contractors, as well as applicants for federal jobs and people listed on background check forms, were exposed after the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was hacked. After such a massive breach, a new agency will be created to replace the current organization called the National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB). The NBIB will be charged with conducting more than 2 million background investigations for numerous federal agencies every year.
As part of this reorganization, information within the agency will be handled by the Department of Defense. This is in an effort to better protect important data and improve our cyber defenses against intrusion attempts by hackers and other nations. There has not been an official timeline for the implementation of this new agency and its new strategies, but they are scheduled to begin sometime this year. These changes will not come without cost. It is estimated that they will require an increase of $95 million in the 2017 fiscal budget.
Vanquish Internal Threats
In the past, the government has depended on outside contractors for assistance in keeping a record of security clearance files. This has proven to be a big liability for the US leaders in the National Security Agency who have admitted that we are not adequately prepared to defend against future hacks. The currently proposed solutions are expensive and very time consuming, leaving room for more attacks to take place.
One thing is certain, there is a need for a security overhaul in the United States. Measures need to be taken to protect our country from every angle. Internal threats may have been a contributing cause of past security breaches. The world’s most secure database can be compromised by one employee who is given too much authority.
EyeDetect offers an additional defense to the cyber security of the US. By screening new and current government employees with this new technology, we are able reduce the internal risk of information breaches of these organizations. EyeDetect offers a practical, cost-effective solution to this serious liability to the US. The disruptive nature of EyeDetect makes it possible to screen more people, in less time, while being less intrusive than has ever been possible.
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Photo courtesy of Johan Viirok. (No changes made)
