Senate Panel Says Recent White House Data Breach Contained Personal Information

Senate Panel Says Recent White House Data Breach Contained Personal Information

So it looks like the White House is up to its usual antics and living up its claim of bring more transparency to the government by not letting Americans know that their personal information may have been compromised during a data breach from some unknown source.

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee has written President Barack Obama over concerns that a recently reported data breach on the White House computer system might have compromised the personal information of many Americans.

"Just like any entity that handles personally-identifiable information, the White House has a responsibility to notify Americans if the recent, or any future breach, results in a compromise," the committee chairman, John Thune, said in a statement on Sunday accompanying the letter.

"If such information has been lost, the White House still has a responsibility to victims even if it believes the hack was perpetrated by foreign spies and not cyber thieves," Thune added.

Here's the best part:

Asked about the Commerce Committee letter, White House National Security Council spokesman Mark Stroh declined to comment further on the breach, but said: "We have consistently supported timely notification in the event of data breaches, consistent with existing federal policy."

Existing federal policy states that the white house doesn't have to disclose data breaches of personal information to the public? And people thought that was a good idea? Now I understand that the White House couldn't know exactly WHOSE personal information was compromised, but they could have at least given a general heads up then as they go over the evidence, narrow down the list of people whose data could have been compromised and give an updated, but more dire warning to those people. You know common sense and all?

I'm really worried about this. Now why would the white house have any personal information on me? Maybe they would have some information on some high ranking people in society that donate or information on military contractors.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Now I understand that the White House couldn't know exactly WHOSE personal information was compromised, but they could have at least given a general heads up then as they go over the evidence, narrow down the list of people whose data could have been compromised and give an updated, but more dire warning to those people. You know common sense and all?

I agree with you on all of that. I think the common sense thing is where the White House gets lost though.

a reply to: butcherguy

Yea common sense and politics don't seem to go together very well...

Well the thing is if it was just people who donated money to them that list would be smaller and they would only have to contact them. Not make some public statement about it.

I'd like to know how many is "many" to the white house?

a reply to: ObjectZero

That's a fair point. If that is the case then you are certainly right. Just contact the people on that list.