Pentagon Personnel Records Breach Exposes 2.8 Million Military Members’ Sensitive Data

The Pentagon has notified more than 2 million current and former service members that their personnel files were stolen during a month‑long compromise of a Defense Manpower Data Center network that began in October. The breach exposed Social Security numbers, names, addresses, sex, race and occupational specialties—details that could aid foreign intelligence in pinpointing high‑value military personnel. This incident marks the second major U. S. government data loss in recent months; a month earlier, the ransomware group ShinyHunters claimed to have accessed FBI systems and stolen records of thousands of employees, including those involved in investigations of China and Russia.