Defense Department agency suffers data breach: report

A Defense Department agency reportedly suffered a data breach last year that may have compromised personal information, including Social Security numbers, of victims involved.

Reuters reported Thursday that the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) sent out a letter last week to all individuals affected by the breach, which DISA wrote took place between May and July of 2019. 

DISA told victims in the letter, which was also tweeted out by one of the potential victims earlier this week, that “some of your personal information, including your Social Security number, may have been compromised” due to a data breach of DISA’s systems.

DISA did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the data breach incident, and the letter did not identify any individuals or groups responsible for the breach.

The agency reportedly told the victims that while “there is no evidence” that suggests any of the personal information stolen has been misused, DISA “takes this potential data compromise very seriously.”

The agency offered to provide free credit monitoring to victims and emphasized it was putting further security protocols in place to prevent future data breaches. 

DISA provides support to national leaders and military personnel through operating “command and control and information-sharing capabilities and a globally accessible enterprise information infrastructure,” according to the agency’s website. It is staffed by around 8,000 military and civilian employees. 

DISA would not be the first government agency to have personal information stolen. A breach of the Office of Personnel Management in 2015 led to sensitive information of more than 21 million people to be stolen, which included Social Security numbers, usernames and passwords.