WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today called on Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Katherine Archuleta to step down in light of recent reports that due to failures in OPM’s security, an estimated 18 million current, former and prospective federal employees were victims of a mass cyber breach.
“Under Katherine Archuleta’s watch, OPM allowed one of the largest breaches of federal employees’ personal information in our nation’s history. More, Ms. Archuleta has refused to take accountability for this great failure – in turn failing the American people, whom she swore an oath to protect and defend,” Daines stated. “Leadership starts at the top, and in light of this is an unprecedented theft of our citizens’ records, we must hold those in positions of responsibility accountable. I lack the confidence that Ms. Archuleta can institute the needed reforms within OPM to protect Americans from future cyber theft. We must continue to diligently pursue these hackers to the fullest extent of the law and take much-needed steps to ensure these breaches aren’t repeated.”
Like many other Americans, Daines received a notice that his information may have been compromised in this latest breach.
Daines previously expressed his deep concerns that Chinese hackers infiltrated our nation’s military and intelligence agencies. Daines has also repeatedly called for quicker notification standards in the event of a data breach of Americans’ personally identifiable information.
Before serving in Congress, Daines worked in Montana’s technology sector for more than twelve years. He served as vice president of Montana-based RightNow Technologies, a global leader in cloud computing and multi-billion dollar technology company that became Bozeman, Montana’s largest commercial employer.
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