Congress Members’ Social Security Numbers Compromised in Healthcare Data Hack
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The personal information—including social security numbers—of more than 56,000 people were compromised in a hack of a healthcare marketplace for DC lawmakers and residents. According to a report from The New York Times, federal investigators informed congressional leadership on Friday that they had identified the personal information of members of the House, Senate, their families and staffers on the dark web as a result of the breach.
The D.C. Health Link marketplace provides services to more than 100,000 individuals, including 11,000 members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers. The breach, which includes social security information, birth dates, addresses, and phone numbers of affected individuals was originally discovered on Wednesday.
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In a joint email sent Wednesday by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, originally obtained by Politico, the House leadership stated that “This breach significantly increases the risk that members, staff, and their families will experience identity theft, financial crimes, and physical threats — already an ongoing concern.”
“Right now, our top priority is protecting the safety and security of anyone in the Capitol Hill community affected by the cyber hack,” McCarthy and Jeffries wrote.
On Friday the The D.C. Health Benefit Exchange Authority indicated that they were working with both Capitol Police and federal law enforcement to track down the source of the hack. D.C. Health Link officials have indicated they have reached out to affected individuals with an offer of data protection services.
The House Administration Committee indicated on Wednesday that it would be launching an investigation into the data hack. The committee tweeted that “Chairman [Bryan] Steil is aware of the breach and is working with the CAO to ensure the vendor takes necessary steps to protect the PII of any impacted member, staff, and their families.”
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