OPM Data Hacked Millions affected

It's been a hot topic across the country. A massive hack of government records is even bigger than first reported. At least 18 million people could have been affected when someone used a federal contractor's credentials to get the personal information of current, former, and retired federal employees. And we're learning today that the data is already on what's called the dark web. Robert Siciliano is the identity theft expert, uh, with the company Hotspot Shield. He's also a victim of this hack. Robert, good afternoon to you.

Good afternoon.

Tell me about this. You were a government contractor as well, government employee, so you are part of this.

So I actually am a staff officer in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and so that means that my information is on federal databases, OPM. When they brought me on, the idea is to do a background check, and all that information is in the hands of criminals at this point. More than likely they have my name, my address, my email address, my phone number, and probably my Social Security number as well.

Now what can be done with this information once it's in, in the wrong hands as we now know it is?

Well, all of this data, we call it personal identifying information, essentially the key to the kingdom. It allows criminals to open new lines of credit under the victim's name. So say with the Social Security number, you can go out and get a credit card under your name. You can You can get a bank account, you can get a loan, and bad guys can do the same thing. They can open up new lines of credit and they don't pay the bills, obviously, and that soils your good name and ruins your credit ratings.

Which is why we always have to keep an eye on our credit, uh, reports and, and whatnot. But my question to you, Robert, is if this can happen to the federal government and the vast amount of security that it can, uh, entail in its encryption and data collection, How can we mere mortals be able to get our information and keep it safe?

Yeah, well, I consider myself a mere mortal as well. Like, I'm a victim like everyone else. And so the best thing to do is what I've done, and what you should do too, or anybody else for that matter, is to get what's called the credit freeze. So a credit freeze locks down your credit on your credit report. It prevents criminals from opening up new lines of credit under your name unless they thought, or you thought, your credit line. So Google the term credit freeze. That's very important to do. Consider investing in identity theft protection or prevention. Any of these tools that you purchase at a monthly fee will definitely help prevent that. Also, do all the basic things like you're supposed to— antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing, and a firewall. My client Hotspot Shield, they provide a VPN, a virtual private network, which protects your wireless connection to the internet. Upgrade and update your operating system. These are all fundamentals of information security.

This is not a matter of if, but now when our information is gonna be taken by some crook out there? Is that what you're saying to us?

You know, there have been a reported 1,500 data breaches in the past year, equating to over a billion records. That's amazing to me. So that means that your information probably, more than likely, is in fact in the hands of a criminal. And it's just gonna keep getting worse. It doesn't seem to be getting much better. So by getting identity theft protection, credit freeze, you know, all the necessary security tools, You do these things, you reduce a certain amount of the risk, and you can also make your data, to a certain degree, useless to a thief if in fact they do have it in their hands. Things like a credit freeze will prevent them from opening up new accounts.

All right, Robert Siciliano, thank you very much for joining us and giving us those tips. Do appreciate it.

For more tips— Thank you so much.

For more tips and information, you can visit hotspotshield.com.