The Department of Defense is notifying more than 2 million current and former service members that their personnel files, containing highly sensitive personal information, were compromised during an extended intrusion into one of its networks. This incident marks the second major breach of federal personnel data in recent months, following a separate attack on FBI systems.
According to a notification letter shared on Reddit, the stolen records include Social Security numbers, full names, residential addresses, gender, race, and occupational specialty. Analysts warn that the occupational data could be particularly valuable to foreign intelligence agencies, as it may assist in identifying high-value military targets.
The attack began last October, when hackers gained access to a system managed by the Defense Manpower Data Center, the entity responsible for compiling Department of Defense personnel records. The Pentagon confirmed that the breach exposed the data of 2.8 million living individuals.
This event follows another significant security failure from last month, when the ransomware collective ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for hacking into FBI systems and exfiltrating records of thousands of current and former employees. Reuters reported that among the stolen job titles were positions related to investigations involving China and Russia.
Wait, 2.8 million? That number seems to have jumped from the original two million estimate. Transparency matters here.
Occupational specialty leaks are terrifying. I hope they take this seriously, not just send generic emails.
Two major breaches in months is alarming. How are we still failing basic cybersecurity for such sensitive data?