US Personnel Chief Resigns In Wake Of Massive Data Breach

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) director Katherine Archuleta testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The head of the government's personnel office has resigned in the wake of a massive data breach on her watch.

A White House official says President Barack Obama accepted the resignation of Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta on Friday morning. She'll stay on the job through the end of the day.

The official says deputy director Beth Cobert will become acting director starting Saturday.

Archuleta's resignation comes the day after her agency disclosed that hackers stole the personal information of more than 21 million people. Previous government estimates of how many were affected by the breach were far smaller.

Members of Congress in both parties had demanded Archuleta's resignation.

OPM serves as the human resource department for the US government

BBC reports the director of the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has resigned after a massive data breach involving more than 20 million people.

Katherine Archuleta said she would step down on Friday to help the department "move beyond the current challenges".

Authorities suspect that Chinese-based hackers targeted the computer systems of the OPM, which acts as the personnel office of the federal government.

Initially the OPM said four million workers were affected by the breach.

However, the department disclosed on Thursday that the data of more than 20 million people, including current and former employees, may have been compromised.

Authorities in Beijing have publicly denied any involvement.

Ms Archuleta resignation comes a day after Democrats and Republicans in Congress called for her to step aside as the scope of the data breach expanded significantly.

Among the data targeted were forms used to vet potential employees of federal agencies including as the CIA and branches of the military.

OPM serves as the human resource department for the US government

The stolen data includes health and financial information, criminal records, and the names and addresses of government employees and their relatives.

Experts are concerned that the sensitive information could be used to blackmail US agents.

But the OPM has said that for anyone who underwent a background investigation in 2000 or afterwards "it is highly likely that the individual is impacted by this cyber breach".