Hackers Compromise Personal Data of US House Members; Details Awaited

This week, a data breach at the Washington DC health insurance marketplace exposed sensitive personal information of the House and its staff members.
Catherine L. Szpindor, the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, said that the FBI had informed her that hackers stole data from hundreds of lawmakers and staff, the Washington Post reports.
The hack did not appear to target lawmakers specifically, Szpindor said.
Also Read: Uber System Breach Culprits Are Likely The Ones Behind Microsoft, Nvidia And Okta Hack
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) sought more information from the DC Health Link, she added.
The breach also affected Senators and their staff. However, it did not appear to compromise data beyond their names and those of their family.
According to the letter sent by House leadership to the marketplace, the FBI told McCarthy and Jeffries that law enforcement officials found they could buy sensitive personal information from DC Health Link on the dark web.
DC Health Link initiated a comprehensive investigation and was working with forensic investigators and law enforcement and taking action to ensure the security and privacy of its users’ personal information.
A broker on an online crime forum claimed to have records on 170,000 DC Health Link customers and offered to sell the data.
Multiple U.S. companies suffered data breaches when the world shifted operations online due to the pandemic.
In December, The Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Safety Review Board looked to study the Lapsus$ hacking group that gained notoriety for carrying out breaches at major U.S. companies.
Lapsus$ came into the forefront after hacks affecting Microsoft Corp MSFT, Nvidia Corp NVDA, Okta Inc OKTA, and other major technology companies.
Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay