The chief of the U.S. federal hiring
office resigned on Friday after massive computer hacks at the agency that put
the personal data of more than 22 million Americans at risk, including people
seeking sensitive security clearances.
The White House said Katherine
Archuleta had stepped down as head of the Office of Personnel Management and
that OPM was enhancing cyber-security measures, such as limiting the number of
"privileged users" of computer data.
Archuleta, facing a chorus of
demands from Congress for her ouster, said in a statement she had told
President Barack Obama it was "best for me to step aside and allow new
leadership to step in."
Beth Cobert, who works in the White
House budget office, will become acting OPM director, the White House said.
The departure of Archuleta will not
fix OPM's serious cyber-security weaknesses, which Obama administration
officials conceded would take months, possibly years, to address.
Republicans in Congress accused the
administration of being flat-footed on the growing problem of computer hacks.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters it was conducting a
"rapid assessment" of cyber security measures with the aim of
accelerating improvements.
The latest hacking revelation at
OPM, revealed on Thursday, followed what the OPM called a "separate but
related" computer incursion involving the theft of data on 4.2 million
current and former federal workers.
Because many of the same people were
affected by both hacks, the total comes to about 22.1 million people, or almost
7 percent of the U.S. population, making the incidents among the most damaging
cyber security breaches ever.
Social Security numbers and other
sensitive data, including possibly compromising secrets gathered for security
clearances, were stolen from OPM computers in the sweeping intrusions.
The United States has identified
China as the leading suspect, but China's Foreign Ministry has dismissed that
as "absurd logic."
Archuleta's departure came a day
after Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner issued a
statement saying that he had "no confidence" in OPM's current
leadership.
On Friday, Boehner, citing chronic
problems at the Veterans Administration that led to the resignation of
Secretary Eric Shinseki last year, said a change in personnel did not always
lead to real change and Obama had to "repair" the OPM problems.
Archuleta, a high-ranking official
in Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, was appointed to the top OPM job in May
2013 and sworn in the following November, becoming the first Latina to head the
federal agency.
The computer hacks at OPM, coupled
with computer glitches this week that disrupted operations at both the New York
Stock Exchange and United Airlines, have raised serious concerns in Congress
about the security of major U.S. computer systems.
In a related matter, arrangements
for granting security clearances to employees and contractors have been
seriously affected since a computer system used to receive and process
applications was turned off temporarily on June 29, government security sources
said.
The digital system, called E-QIP,
had been the main platform through which applicants submitted detailed
information about their background on a questionnaire known as Standard Form
86. The system was shut down for security enhancements.
A source familiar with the process
said there were now serious problems handling the flow of paper forms, and
concern that digitizing them could expose them to the risk of hacking.
A senior Obama Administration
official acknowledged that the process had been "hindered" by the
E-QIP shutdown but said the digital system would be restored in four to six
weeks
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