In the hacking world, a few of the most favored data breach targets include governmental agencies and militaries. Whether it is the challenge of hacking these presumably highly secure entities, or the thrill and notoriety associated with a successful hack, governments and militaries are constantly subjected to cyber threats. In particular, the United States government and military forces are not invulnerable to hacking, and cyber security attacks are made on countless government and military entities each and every day.
U.S. Military Data Breaches, Sailors’ Personal Information Exposed
The latest U.S. military data breach affects sailors in the U.S. Navy, according to an article on NavyTimes.com. A personal computer that was linked to a Navy contractor, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, and was used for supporting a reenlistment and career data was compromised in the security breach. Personal data belonging to more than 130,000 sailors was exposed in the hack. The Navy has requested that Hewlett Packard Enterprises provide credit monitoring services for the affected individuals, but no agreement has been reached at this time.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management Hacked in 2015
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is the governmental entity through which nearly all federal government employees must be processed. In 2015 it was hacked. The OPM is effectively the Human Resources department for government workers. OPM stores copious amounts of personal information about federal employees. This includes both currently employed with the government as well as former federal employees. The OPM even stores personal information for federal contractors.
In the summer of 2015, OPM announced that it had been the target of a data security breach. OPM reported that the personal information of more than 21 million current and former government employees and contractors had been exposed. Names, birth dates, places of birth, addresses, Social Security numbers, and other personal information were exposed in the OPM breach.
A recent House Committee Report on Oversight and Government Reform entitled “The OPM Data Breach: How the Government Jeopardized Our National Security for More than a Generation” detailed the results of a year-long investigation into the OPM data security breach. The OPM hack was the most massive data breach in U.S. history. The report concluded that OPM mismanagement of cyber security measures and implementation played a significant role in the data breach.
Government and Military Entities Must Comply With Breach Notification Laws
When a security breach occurs that involves the U.S. government, other government entities, or the military, these entities are required to comply with the appropriate breach notification laws applicable for the affected individuals.
Speak With a Data Breach Attorney Today
Revision Legal has a thorough understanding of the dynamic nature of Cyber Security. Breach notification compliance is just one area the data breach lawyers at Revision Legal are prepared to assist you with. If you have concerns about your exposure in a data breach or have received breach notification and you do not know what to do next, you can contact the experienced attorneys at Revision Legal. Contact us using the form on this page or call us at 855-473-8474.
Image credit to Flickr user Broadleak News
