A data breach at a health insurance marketplace for Washington, D.C., potentially exposed information on lawmakers and staff, top House and Senate officials say. A House official says the breach did not appear to specifically target members of Congress.
In a letter obtained by NBC News, Chief Administrative Officer Catherine L. Szpindor said Wednesday that the U.S. Capitol Police and“Currently, I do not know the size and scope of the breach, but have been informed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that account information and [personally identifiable information] of hundreds of Member and House staff were stolen,” Szpindor said.
Szpindor added that it did not appear that House lawmakers were “the specific target of the attack” on DC Health Link. The data breach has also affected Senate offices, according to an email sent to Senate offices Wednesday afternoon. The notice said that the “data included the full names, date of enrollment, relationship , and email address, but no other Personally Identifiable Information .”Punchbowl NewsOut of an"abundance of caution," Szpindor said, lawmakers may opt to freeze family credit at three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Transunion.
According to Szpindor's letter, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., requested additional information from DC Health Link on what data was taken, who was affected and what steps were being taken to protect House victims of the breach.Frank Thorp V is a producer and off-air reporter covering Congress for NBC News, managing coverage of the Senate.
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