A breach shakes the Pentagon.. Revealing data of more than 3 million people
Amman3 min read
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A report by the American network "ABC" News revealed a widespread breach of the US Department of Defense's (Pentagon) personnel data system, leading to the disclosure of sensitive personal information of more than 3 million people, including military personnel and employees linked to the ministry.
The network quoted an American defense official that the breach included data of 2.76 million living people, in addition to 294,000 deceased, and the exposed information included social security numbers and details related to the jobs held by individuals.
The volume of data that was exposed to unauthorized access raises security concerns, especially since the records included job information of military and civilian personnel.
Breach lasted for months
According to the official who spoke to "ABC" News, the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) information system was exposed to unauthorized access by a limited number of users, during the period from October 2025 to July 2026.
He explained that the center addressed the security breach as soon as it was discovered, while American reports indicated that the "Military Times" newspaper was the first to reveal the incident last week.
The Defense Manpower Data Center is one of the main repositories of personnel records in the Pentagon, holding more than 60 million records including active and reserve military personnel, civilian employees, contractors, retirees, veterans, and family members of military personnel.
Defense officials confirmed that they have not yet found evidence of misuse of the exposed information, indicating the provision of identity protection and credit monitoring services to affected individuals.
Another breach targets the FBI
The disclosure of the Pentagon's data breach coincides with a separate security incident targeting the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) employment portal.
"ABC" News reported that the Bureau sent a notification to its employees regarding procedures for dealing with the incident, after an electronic entity threatened to publish personal data allegedly including names, addresses, social security numbers, birth dates, and contact information of employees.
However, the hacking group "ShinyHunters" later announced that it would not publish the data, after having threatened to do so, denying that its actions were linked to a ransom request or financial gain.
For its part, the FBI confirmed that the affected system is unclassified, indicating the start of notifying the concerned employees, warning them against suspicious calls, and organizing internal briefings.
No link has been proven between the breach of the Pentagon's data system and the incident targeting the FBI's employment portal.
