Throughout the year, various agencies of the government were hit with over 77,000 cyber incidents, though it was claimed that only a small amount were serious data breaches. Included in the number are any “violation or imminent threat of violation of computer security policies, acceptable use policies, or standard computer security practices.”
According to the Office and Management and Budget’s annual performance review, part of the reason for the increase is improved detection ability.
Cyber attacks are claimed to be among the most serious threats the nation faces. Last month, President Barack Obama asked Congress for $19 billion in cyber security funding across the government, $5 billion above his last annual budget request.
“Despite unprecedented improvements in securing federal information resources … malicious actors continue to gain unauthorized access to, and compromise, federal networks, information systems, and data,” the report said.
In 2014, a massive hack of the Office of Personnel Management began, and was not detected until 2015. Over 22 million current and former federal employees and contractors had their personal information, including social security numbers and addresses, compromised in the breach.
