Personal data of over 130,000 US Navy sailors hacked
The US Navy said personal data for 134,386 current and former US sailors has been lost after a laptop used by a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services (HPES) employee was compromised. HPES analysed the breach and found that data, including names and social security numbers, were accessed on 22 November 2016 by unknown hackers. The US Navy is notifying the affected sailors and working on credit monitoring service options.

US Navy said that a laptop used by a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services employee was hacked. Hackers gained access to sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, for 134,386 current and former U.S. sailors.

The US Navy was notified by Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services (HPES) that one of the company’s laptops operated by their employee supporting a Navy contract was reported as compromised.

After analysis by HPES and a continuing Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) investigation, it was determined Nov. 22, 2016, that sensitive information, including the names and Social Security Numbers (SSNs) of 134,386 current and former Sailors were accessed by unknown individuals.

“The Navy takes this incident extremely seriously- this is a matter of trust for our Sailors,” said Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Robert Burke. “We are in the early stages of investigating and are working quickly to identify and take care of those affected by this breach.”

The Navy will notify those affected Sailors in the coming weeks by multiple means including phone, letter and email.

For those affected by this incident, the Navy is working to provide further details on what happened, and is reviewing credit monitoring service options for affected Sailors.

At this stage of the investigation, there is no evidence to suggest misuse of the information that was compromised.