The Pentagon breach comes as the FBI is responding to a separate incident involving its jobs website.
A security breach at a Pentagon personnel database exposed sensitive information linked to more than 3 million people, including military personnel, civilian employees and others connected to the US defence establishment, according to a US defence official. The breach affected 2.76 million living people and 294,000 deceased individuals, the official said. The unauthorised access took place between October 2025 and July 2026, when the vulnerability was discovered and fixed. “A Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) information system experienced unauthorized access of personally identifiable information by a small number of unauthorized users between October 2025 and July 2026. In a statement to the New York Times and 404 Media on Monday, the group said its actions were intended as a marketing campaign rather than an attempt to extort money.
Upon discovery, DMDC immediately remediated the vulnerability,” the official said. “Since the very beginning of this event we have unequivocally and assiduously emphasised this is NOT extortion, this is NOT ransom, this is NOT financially motivated,” the statement said. Employees have been told not to speak to the media and to call 911 if journalists are “trespassing”, according to the warning described to ABC News.
The exposed information included Social Security numbers and details about the jobs held by military and civilian personnel. The nature of the information has raised concerns about the potential national security implications. The Pentagon breach comes as the FBI is responding to a separate incident involving its jobs website, FBIJobs.gov. The bureau is treating the situation as though the personal information of all FBI employees may have been compromised. Employees whose information was affected have started receiving notifications, while the FBI has stressed that the compromised system was unclassified. The hacking group ShinyHunters later claimed it would not publish the data. “This was all a marketing campaign to protect our business and actively combat disinformation. If we made this statement normally then this much attention to our words and intentions would’ve never been this widespread. The FBI has advised potentially affected employees to remain alert and avoid responding to suspicious calls. Internal briefings are also planned for those affected. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
The FBI sent employees a notice on Friday after a threat actor claimed it had obtained information including employees’ names, home addresses, personal and work contact details, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and emergency contact information, sources told ABC News.
The agency holds more than 60 million personnel records. Military Times first reported the breach last week.
Defence officials said there is currently no evidence that the exposed information has been misused. The Defense Manpower Data Center is one of the Pentagon’s main systems for maintaining personnel records. Its databases cover active-duty and reserve troops, civilian employees, contractors, retirees, veterans and military family members. They are offering identity protection and credit monitoring services to people whose information was affected.