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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Idaho man files data-breach lawsuit against federal office

An Idaho man has filed a lawsuit against the federal government because he says his personal information was compromised as part of a massive data breach of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Victor Hobbs, an aviation safety inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration in Spokane, Wash. and resident of North Idaho, is asking the judge to grant the case class-action status on behalf of himself and other federal employees who may have been compromised by the data breach, the AP reports.

He filed the lawsuit in Idaho's U.S. District Court against the Office of Personnel Management, former and current officials at the government agency and against agency contractor KeyPoint Government Solutions. The agency and contractor have not yet responded to the lawsuit; AP reporter Rebecca Boone has a full report here. Hackers suspected of working for the Chinese government are believed to have stolen records for as many as 18 million current and former federal employees and contractors last year, including detailed background investigations for employees with security clearances.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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