Then-Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta contested the claims last month from the media that the number of people affected from the cyber-attack on the agency was higher than the 4 million she had originally stated.
During her opening testimony, Archuleta was adamant that the number of people affected by the hack was 4.2 million, and that the number had not changed since OPM had alerted Congress and the public. Archuleta added that OPM is not in a position to give a definitive report on the issue.
"I want to address the 18 million individuals that has been cited in the press. It is my understanding that the 18 million refers to a preliminary, unverified, and approximate number of unique social security numbers in the background’s investigations data," Archuleta said. "It is a number that I am not comfortable with at this time."
Throughout the public hearing Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R., Utah) challenged Archuleta to state an accurate number of active and former employees whose information could have been compromised.
In a closed-door meeting the day before, James Trainor, acting assistant director of the cyber division of the FBI, disputed Archuleta’s claim of only 4.2 million victims. Also in an earlier closed door briefing with senators, FBI Director James Comey had provided the 18 million estimate, which was based on an internal estimate prepared by OPM officials, CNN reported.
Thursday reports say the number of active and former employees affected from the hack is up to 21.5 million, nearly six times larger than what Archuleta testified to Congress. The new number reflects anyone who was subjected to a government background check since 2000.
The major breach in OPM’s security system was not detected until April 2015 after OPM began to implement a major overhaul in its security system had begun. OPM has not released who is responsible for the attack but it is believed to been done by the Chinese government in an effort to gather intelligence.
With the calls loud for Archuleta to be fired for her irresponsible handling of the OPM, on Friday afternoon, Archuleta resigned.