An external hard drive belonging to the Army recently went missing, putting the personal information of tens of thousands of soldiers and Army civilians at risk.
Details: Most of those affected are soldiers whose files went before the 2008 sergeant first class and 2008 master sergeant promotion boards, along with the 2007 colonel promotion board and the 2009 lieutenant colonel command board.
How many victims? 60,000.
What type of personal information? Names and Social Security numbers.
What happened? The hard drive went missing in early November at the of the Army Corps of Engineers' Southwestern Division, which is headquartered in Dallas.Details: Most of those affected are soldiers whose files went before the 2008 sergeant first class and 2008 master sergeant promotion boards, along with the 2007 colonel promotion board and the 2009 lieutenant colonel command board.
Quote: “Right now the focus is on investigating [the incident], alerting people who may be affected and taking measures to make sure it doesn't happen again,” Maj. Mark Young, a Corps of Engineers spokesman told the ArmyTimes.
What was the response? Affected individuals are being notified by email.
Source: ArmyTimes, www.armytimes.com, “Data breach could affect 60,000 GIs, civilians,” Nov. 13, 2009.
