Contractors are concerned they might lose government business for coming forward about suspected internal data breaches, after the unprecedented decision by two departments to halt contracts with a hacked background investigation firm.
It is believed the personal information of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees likely was compromised when a suspected nation state penetrated a USIS corporate network. USIS conducts personnel investigations on behalf of many agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). DHS and OPM temporarily ceased some jobs with USIS after the incident.
OPM did not pause work as a punishment, but rather as a way to protect federal employees until more details about the intrusion are known, agency officials told Nextgov on Friday, August 8, 2014. But officials said they do not host information with USIS on the same system DHS uses.
DHS has issued stop work orders to temporarily halt activities that involve personal information, until the department can assess the full scope of the potential intrusion and repairs, Homeland Security officials told Nextgov.
Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2014/08/will-government-shred-your-contract-after-hack/91049
