Government workers worried about the compromise of their personal information had the chance to grill federal officials Thursday about what happened and what employees should do to protect their data.
"How safe are we if everyone in the world knows we've got this protection for 18 months and that's it?" one woman asked.
Hundreds of current and former federal workers attended a workshop Thursday night in Germantown, Md. looking for answers after two hacks of Office of Personnel Management files that hit millions of current, former and prospective employees.
Maryland Congressman John Delaney, who sponsored the event, echoed the concerns of many of his constituents.
"We clearly underestimated this. We clearly under-invested in this. We clearly didn't do a good job coordinating," he said.
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh told the crowd that he was a victim of identity theft himself. Someone tried to buy a home using his information.
"It can happen to anybody," he said.
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For many, it was the first chance to actually ask questions about the OPM data breach, and to talk with the people responsible for fixing it.
The Federal Communications Commission is working on an identity theft app. For information on how to protect yourself, read our guide on what to do next and visit IdentityTheft.gov.
