The US government is reportedly notifying millions of current and former US military service members and staff that their personal information was stolen during a months-long breach of the Pentagon’s personnel records. This incident is the latest in a series of thefts involving federal workers’ data in recent months.
A data breach notification from the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) indicated that unauthorised users exploited a security vulnerability in an unspecified file-sharing system over several months, from October 2025 to mid-July 2026.
The exposed personally identifiable information included Social Security numbers, names, dates of birth, sex, race, and other details about military service. The notice confirmed that these personnel records were unencrypted.
According to CNN and Federal News Network, a Pentagon official stated that the breach affects approximately 2.8 million living people and close to 300,000 deceased individuals. The Department of Defense, which oversees the DMDC, has said it has no indication the information was misused, but did not provide details on how this conclusion was reached.