Watchdog: OPM violated rules with contract to deal with data breach

By Rudy Takala, Rudy Takala

Published December 20, 2015

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A new government watchdog report says the Office of Personnel Management violated federal procedures when it awarded a $20 million contract to a company that is providing identity theft protection to millions of current and former federal workers who had their data stolen.

The report from the OPM's inspector general found that the agency failed to abide by Federal Acquisition Regulation or OPM's own policies and procedures in awarding the contract. "As a result, the wrong contracting vehicle was utilized … and millions of taxpayer dollars were put at risk for waste or loss," the report stated.

OPM awarded the contract to the Winvale Group and its subcontractor, CSIdentity, to protect 4.2 million current and former federal government employees who had their information stolen in a breach of the agency. Information on more than 22 million individuals who have applied for security clearances from the U.S. government was exfiltrated this year in a breach linked to the Chinese government.