Pentagon says personnel breach exposed records of 2.8 million people
Hackers accessed a Defense Manpower Data Center network from last October, according to the Pentagon. Officials say the stolen records have not been misused but have not explained how they reached that conclusion.
The Pentagon says hackers stole personnel records relating to 2.8 million living people after gaining access to a Defense Manpower Data Center network starting last October. The records included sensitive personal and occupational information.
The centre collates Department of Defense personnel records. A notification letter cited by Ars Technica listed information including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, sex, race and occupational specialty.
The Pentagon has not said how the attackers gained access, whether officials contacted them or whether the department received ransom demands. Officials say the stolen data has not been misused, but have not explained the basis for that assessment.
The disclosure follows a separate claim by ransomware group ShinyHunters that it stole records from thousands of current or former FBI employees. The full scope of that incident has not been independently established in the source reporting.
The potential value of the records for espionage has been compared with the 2015 breach of the US Office of Personnel Management, which exposed 22.1 million records. That comparison concerns possible intelligence value; it does not establish that the Pentagon data has been used for espionage.
