House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) has asked acting Office of Personnel Management chief Beth Cobert for documents and responses on inquiries related to OPM’s cybersecurity posture and causes of data breaches in the agency.Smith said in that letter to Cobert sent Tuesday the Government Accountability Office has conducted a study that identified foreign cyber attacks as a most frequent threat to government computer systems that include OPM’s as a result of ineffective implementation of access controls.
Smith wants information on OPM’s staff capacity for oversight on contractor-operated information and information systems as well as the organization’s strategies to comply with National Institute of Standards and Technology guidelines.
Other questions in the letter tackle foreign access to sensitive information and personally identifiable information through systems or databases under OPM contractors and Office of Management and Budget‘s CyberStat Review Sessions after last year’s OPM data breach.
Smith asked Cobert’s team to send requested documents and responses to the questions by August 5.
