Pentagon data breach exposes personal records of over 2 million military members
A network intrusion at the Pentagon has led to the theft of sensitive personal data belonging to over 2.8 million current and former military members. This marks the second significant data leak from a US federal agency in recent months.
The Pentagon is notifying more than 2.8 million current and former military personnel that their sensitive personal records were stolen. The breach occurred through unauthorized access to a network operated by the Defense Manpower Data Center, which began last October.
The compromised data includes Social Security numbers, names, addresses, sex, and occupational specialty. Experts suggest the occupational data could be particularly valuable to foreign adversaries for identifying high-value military personnel.
This incident follows a similar breach last month where the ransomware group ShinyHunters claimed to have hacked into FBI systems, stealing records of thousands of current and former employees. Reports indicated these records included job titles related to investigations into China or Russia.
The Department of Defense has begun informing affected individuals and is investigating the full scope and impact of the intrusion.