A breach of a Pentagon personnel database by hackers resulted in the leak of personal information concerning more than 3 million people, a U.S. defense official told ABC News.
The exposed data included Social Security numbers and details regarding the positions held by military personnel and civilian employees.
Unauthorized access to the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) system—one of the Pentagon's primary databases—occurred between October 2025 and July 2026. The vulnerability was patched after being discovered. The DMDC stores over 60 million records on military personnel, reservists, civilian employees, contractors, veterans, retirees, and their family members. U.S. authorities have not yet found evidence that the stolen data has been misused.
Earlier, on September 23, the hacker group ShinyHunters claimed to have breached the FBI and stolen data on current and former employees. As proof, the group published information on approximately 5,000 agents—including Bureau Director Kash Patel—such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and job titles. The Bureau stated that it is aware of the hackers' claims and is investigating the incident.