Pentagon Breach Exposes Data of 3 Million Personnel
The Defense Manpower Data Center exposed personal information of 3.05 million people in a security breach lasting from October 2025 to July 2026.
A security breach at the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) exposed the sensitive personal information of approximately 3.05 million people between October 2025 and July 16, 2026. The compromised data included Social Security numbers, names, dates of birth, and contact information for 2.76 million living individuals and 294,000 deceased persons. The affected group comprises active duty and reserve troops, veterans, civilian employees, and military family members.
The exposure resulted from a vulnerability in a DMDC file-sharing system that allowed unauthorized users to access unencrypted personally identifiable information. Officials noted that the leak of military job details could raise national security concerns by revealing the identities of personnel in sensitive roles. The Pentagon patched the system upon discovery in July 2026 and stated there is currently no evidence that the data has been misused.
In response, the Department of Defense is providing affected individuals with 12 months of credit monitoring and identity-restoration services through IDX. Separately, the Federal Bureau of Investigation responded to a breach of its unclassified jobs portal, FBIJobs.gov. While a hacking group initially threatened to publish employee data, the group later claimed the event was a "marketing campaign" and stated it would not release the information. The Dutch National Police assisted the FBI in arresting a Dutch national in connection with that separate breach.
