--- title: Hackers stole millions of US military personnel records... description: The U.S. Department of Defense is notifying millions of current and former military service members and staff that their personal data was stolen in a... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/hackers-stole-millions-of-us-military-personnel-records-during-months-long-data-breach-tsw9zczo8 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Hackers stole millions of US military personnel records during months-long data breach | daily.dev og:description: The U.S. Department of Defense is notifying millions of current and former military service members and staff that their personal data was stolen in a... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/hackers-stole-millions-of-us-military-personnel-records-during-months-long-data-breach-tsw9zczo8 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/tsw9zCzO8.png og:image:alt: Hackers stole millions of US military personnel records during months-long data breach og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Hackers stole millions of US military personnel records during months-long data breach **[TechCrunch](https://daily.dev/sources/tc)** · 3 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary The U.S. Department of Defense is notifying millions of current and former military service members and staff that their personal data was stolen in a months-long breach of the Pentagon's Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) personnel records system. Unauthorized users exploited a vulnerability in an unspecified file-sharing system between October 2025 and mid-July 2026, exposing unencrypted Social Security numbers, names, dates of birth, and military service details. Officials estimate about 2.8 million living people and nearly 300,000 deceased individuals were affected. The DoD says it has no indication the data was misused, though it did not explain how it reached that conclusion. This follows a separate recent breach at the FBI attributed to the ShinyHunters hacking group, and echoes the 2015 Office of Personnel Management breach attributed to China that exposed records of over 22 million federal employees. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How many people were affected by the Pentagon DMDC personnel records data breach? About 2.8 million living people and close to 300,000 deceased individuals had their personal information exposed. Attackers exploited a security vulnerability in an unspecified file-sharing system over several months, from October 2025 to mid-July 2026, accessing unencrypted Social Security numbers, names, dates of birth, sex, race, and military service details. _Follow daily.dev for updates on major government data breaches affecting personal information security._ ### What agency was breached in the 2026 Pentagon personnel data theft? The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), a Department of Defense records-keeping unit that maintains over 60 million records for military and civilian staff and their families, was breached. DMDC also serves as the military's identity management provider, linking personnel to credentials like smart cards used to access Pentagon systems, buildings, and bases. _daily.dev readers tracking government cybersecurity incidents can follow how such breaches unfold and get resolved._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Japan's Digital Agency says VPN flaw exposed 246,000 personnel records](https://daily.dev/posts/japan-s-digital-agency-says-vpn-flaw-exposed-246-000-personnel-records-xafiisunz) · BleepingComputer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [US government says it got hacked — again](https://daily.dev/posts/us-government-says-it-got-hacked-again-portisxb8) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [15.8M medical records stolen from French health ministry](https://daily.dev/posts/15-8m-medical-records-stolen-from-french-health-ministry-wf933jtn2) · The Register · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [2.7 million hit in workplace benefits data breach exposing SSNs, dates of birth and health account data](https://daily.dev/posts/2-7-million-hit-in-workplace-benefits-data-breach-exposing-ssns-dates-of-birth-and-health-account-d-g44lfrkw5) · IT Security Guru · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#cyber](https://daily.dev/tags/cyber), [#data-breach](https://daily.dev/tags/data-breach) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/hackers-stole-millions-of-us-military-personnel-records-during-months-long-data-breach-tsw9zczo8) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Hackers stole millions of US military personnel records during months-long data breach","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/hackers-stole-millions-of-us-military-personnel-records-during-months-long-data-breach-tsw9zczo8","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/hackers-stole-millions-of-us-military-personnel-records-during-months-long-data-breach-tsw9zczo8"},"datePublished":"2026-09-30T19:30:18.030Z","dateModified":"2026-10-06T02:52:59.769Z","description":"The U.S. Department of Defense is notifying millions of current and former military service members and staff that their personal data was stolen in a...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/c3466c7a981bc20580c537caa7d24e33?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/c3466c7a981bc20580c537caa7d24e33?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCrunch","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechCrunch","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tc","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/hackers-stole-millions-of-us-military-personnel-records-during-months-long-data-breach-tsw9zczo8","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"cyber,data-breach","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCrunch","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Hackers stole millions of US military personnel records during months-long data breach"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/hackers-stole-millions-of-us-military-personnel-records-during-months-long-data-breach-tsw9zczo8#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How many people were affected by the Pentagon DMDC personnel records data breach?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"About 2.8 million living people and close to 300,000 deceased individuals had their personal information exposed. Attackers exploited a security vulnerability in an unspecified file-sharing system over several months, from October 2025 to mid-July 2026, accessing unencrypted Social Security numbers, names, dates of birth, sex, race, and military service details. Follow daily.dev for updates on major government data breaches affecting personal information security."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What agency was breached in the 2026 Pentagon personnel data theft?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), a Department of Defense records-keeping unit that maintains over 60 million records for military and civilian staff and their families, was breached. DMDC also serves as the military's identity management provider, linking personnel to credentials like smart cards used to access Pentagon systems, buildings, and bases. daily.dev readers tracking government cybersecurity incidents can follow how such breaches unfold and get resolved."}}]} ```