Security News > 2005 > August > Air Force investigates data breach

http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,104080,00.html By Linda Rosencrance AUGUST 19, 2005 COMPUTERWORLD The U.S. Air Force is notifying more than 33,000 officers that their personal data has been breached by a malicious hacker, the Air Force said [1] today. The hacker used a legitimate user's ID and password to access personal information on the officers contained in the Assignment Management System (AMS), an online program used for assignment preferences and career management, the Air Force said. That data included career information, birth dates and Social Security numbers. Lt. Col. Michele Dewerth, a spokeswoman for the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas, said there has been no evidence of identify theft. A systems operator at the air base discovered the breach sometime between May and June, Dewerth said. She declined to be more specific because of the ongoing investigation. "Immediately upon discovery we put more security measures in place," she said. The personnel center also notified Air Force and federal investigators that there was unusually high activity on a single user's AMS account in June, according to the statement. "We notified airmen as quickly as we could while still following criminal investigation procedures with the [Air Force's Office of Special Investigations]," said Maj. Gen. Tony Przybyslawski , AFPC commander. "Protecting airmen's personal information is something we take very seriously, and we are doing everything we can to catch and prosecute those responsible under the law." The breach involved data on half of the force's approximately 70,000 officers. It also affected fewer than 20 enlisted personnel, the Air Force said. [1] http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/pubaffairs/release/2005/08/AMS.htm _________________________________________ Attend ToorCon Sept 16-18th, 2005 Convention Center San Diego, California www.toorcon.org
News URL
http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,104080,00.html
Related news
- Data breach at Japanese telecom giant NTT hits 18,000 companies (source)
- PowerSchool previously hacked in August, months before data breach (source)
- Western Alliance Bank notifies 21,899 customers of data breach (source)
- Sperm donation giant California Cryobank warns of a data breach (source)
- Pennsylvania education union data breach hit 500,000 people (source)
- StreamElements discloses third-party data breach after hacker leaks data (source)
- Texas State Bar warns of data breach after INC ransomware claims attack (source)
- Food giant WK Kellogg discloses data breach linked to Clop ransomware (source)
- The quiet data breach hiding in AI workflows (source)
- Hertz confirms customer info, drivers' licenses stolen in data breach (source)