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a FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD
oa 77 K Street, NE Washington, DC 20002
5
0

HRIFT SAVINGS PLAN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 25, 2012

FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD
REPORTS A CYBER ATTACK ON A CONTRACTOR
POTENTIALLY AFFECTING TSP PARTICIPANTS

No Indication of Any Improper Use of Data

Washington, D.C. -- The Federal Retirement Thrift
Investment Board (FRTIB) announced today that a computer
belonging to Serco Inc., a third party service provider,
suffered a sophisticated cyber attack that resulted in the
unauthorized access of the personal information of
approximately 123,000 Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
participants or other recipients of TSP payments. In April
of 2012, the FRTIB and Serco were informed of the
unauthorized access incident by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI).

There is no indication that any of these data have been
misused. In addition, there is no evidence that the TSP’s
network or its website, www.tsp.gov, were affected.

In addition to performing a forensic analysis, the FRTIB
and Serco took the following steps: 1) an immediate
shutdown of the compromised computer; 2) the formation of a
response team that is conducting a systemwide review of all
computer security procedures; and 3) enhanced information
technology security.

Notification letters are being sent to all affected
individuals offering them information on how to contact a
call center that has been established to provide support
and offer services such as credit monitoring. In addition,
as a precautionary measure, the FRTIB will place alerts on
the impacted TSP accounts to ensure that any account
activity receives heightened scrutiny.


“We sincerely regret that this event occurred,” said Greg
Long, Executive Director of the FRTIB, “and we will provide
assistance and support to the affected individuals through
a call center and credit monitoring. We are working with
Serco and other security experts to ensure that TSP data is
protected and secure. We are proud of our service to our
participants and beneficiaries and want to continue to earn
their trust.”

The FBI provided data to Serco and the FRTIB that required
extensive, expert analysis in order to determine the number
of people affected and the identity of the individuals who
had their personal data compromised. This analysis
determined that a number of files containing varying
combinations of data of 123,201 individuals were accessed.
The names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of 43,587
individuals were in the files. In some cases, this group
of data also included financial account numbers and routing
numbers. Another group of 79,614 had their Social Security
number and some TSP-related information taken.

The TSP is a retirement savings plan for Federal employees;
it is similar to the 401(k) plans offered by many private
employers. As of April 2012, TSP assets totaled
approximately $313 billion, and retirement savings accounts
were being maintained for roughly 4.5 million TSP
participants. Participants include Federal civilian
employees in all branches of Government, employees of the
U.S. Postal Service, and members of the uniformed services.
Additional information can be found at www.tsp.gov.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Kim Weaver
202-942-1640

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