The Pentagon is informing more than 2 million current and former military members that their personnel records were stolen over a monthslong compromise of one of its networks. The breach is the second in recent months to expose sensitive government information. The records, according to one notification letter, included Social Security numbers, names, addresses, sex, race, and occupational specialty.
This last category could help foreign adversaries identify high-value military personnel. Starting last October, hackers gained access to a system operated by the Defense Manpower Data Center. The Pentagon says the breach compromised the records of 2.8 million living individuals.\n\nThe incident follows a recent breach where the ransomware group Shiny Hunters claimed it hacked into FBI systems and stole records of thousands of current or former employees.
Reuters reported the records included job titles related to investigating China or Russia. Shiny Hunters said it has no plans to release the information, but its promises mean very little given its history of extortion. An FBI official called on group members to turn themselves in.
Source: Ars Technica · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing