Approximately 39,000 personnel, including Marines, sailors, and civilians working within the Department of Defense, have been affected by a data breach under investigation by U.S. Marine Corps officials. The breach occurred when an unencrypted email was sent from Combat Logistics Regiment 17 at Camp Pendleton to administrators of the Defense Travel System.
The email, sent on May 9, contained various personal information, such as full names, last four digits of Social Security numbers, contact details, and even account and routing numbers. However, there is currently no evidence that this information has left official government channels.
In a notification letter sent by J. S. McCalmont, the Commanding Officer of Combat Logistics Regiment 17, it was confirmed that the breach included personal information, phone numbers, email addresses, residential and mailing addresses, as well as banking details. Marine Corps officials are actively reaching out to those affected by the breach and have expressed regret for any inconvenience caused.
Additional security measures are being implemented to prevent further unauthorized disclosures, and new protocols are being adopted to ensure the protection of all personally identifying information (PII).
While the Marine Corps spokesperson assured that there is no indication of the compromised PII being shared outside of official government channels, the incident highlights the need for enhanced data security practices.
Investigations are ongoing, and the Marine Corps is taking the breach seriously, aiming to prevent any future breaches and safeguard the personal information of its personnel.
