Pentagon Notifies 2.8 Million Individuals of Data Breach Involving Sensitive Records

<p>The Pentagon is notifying over 2 million current and former military members that their personnel records, which contain sensitive personal information, were stolen during a months-long compromise of one of its networks. This breach is the second incident in recent months to expose sensitive government information.</p><p>The records, as detailed in a notification letter posted to Reddit, included Social Security numbers, names, addresses, sex, race, and occupational specialty. The latter category could be particularly valuable to foreign adversaries, as it may assist their intelligence agencies in identifying high-value military personnel. Hackers began accessing a system operated by the Defense Manpower Data Center, which compiles Department of Defense personnel records, starting last October. The Pentagon reports that the breach compromised the records of 2.8 million living individuals.</p><h2>Another Major Breach</h2><p>This incident marks the second major network breach in recent months that has exposed sensitive US government personnel records that could be exploited by criminal groups or foreign adversaries. Last month, the ransomware group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for hacking into FBI systems and stealing records of thousands of the agency’s current or former employees. According to a report by Reuters, the job titles in the records included roles related to investigations of China or Russia.</p>