Pentagon data breach exposes records of 2.76 million military and civilian workers
The Defense Manpower Data Center fell victim to unauthorized access spanning nine months, compromising sensitive personal information including Social Security numbers across millions of active and former personnel files.
Breach could put those in sensitive national security roles at risk
The U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) suffered a data breach lasting from October 2025 through July 2026, during which unauthorized parties gained access to and possibly removed personally identifiable information belonging to 2.76 million living service members and defense workers, plus an additional 294,000 records of deceased individuals. According to ABC News, the compromised data encompassed Social Security numbers alongside employment information for both military and civilian staff.
A U.S. defense official stated in a written response: "A Defense Manpower Data Center information system experienced unauthorized access of personally identifiable information by a small number of unauthorized users between October 2025 and July 2026. Upon discovery, DMDC immediately remediated the vulnerability." The official noted that investigators have found no signs so far that the stolen information has been misused.