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Ars Technica·

🚨Pentagon Warns 2M Military Members: Records Stolen

2.8M military records stolen, including SSNs

TL;DR

The Pentagon has informed over 2 million military members that their personnel records were stolen, including SSNs and personal details. This is a major security breach with potential espionage implications.

The Pentagon is warning over 2 million current and former military members that their personnel records were stolen. The breach compromised the records of 2.8 million living individuals, including Social Security numbers, names, addresses, sex, race, and occupational specialty. This is a significant security breach, as the occupational specialty category can be valuable to foreign adversaries in identifying high-value military personnel. The breach occurred on a system operated by the Defense Manpower Data Center and was a monthslong compromise. This is the second recent breach to expose sensitive government information, following a ransomware attack on FBI systems last month. The Pentagon has not explained how the attackers breached its security systems or how they reached the conclusion that the stolen data hasn't been misused.

Pentagon Warns 2M Military Members: Records Stolen — Ars Technica

Key Points

1

Over 2 million military members informed of stolen personnel records.

2

2.8 million living individuals' records compromised, including SSNs.

3

Stolen data includes names, addresses, sex, race, and occupational specialty.

4

Breach occurred on Defense Manpower Data Center system, monthslong.

5

Second recent breach; FBI systems hit last month by ransomware group.

Why It Matters

This breach affects anyone with a military background, exposing sensitive personal and professional information. The occupational specialty data could be used by adversaries to identify high-value targets. The Pentagon's lack of clarity on how the breach occurred and whether the data has been misused adds to the concern.

militarybreachpentagonssncyberattack

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