A breach of the Defense Manpower Data Center’s information system exposed the personal information of more than 3 million people with ties to the U.S. military, a Pentagon official told Federal News Network.
A “small number of unauthorized users” had access to the data for nearly a year, from October 2025 to July 2026. A notice sent to one affected person said a security vulnerability in a file-sharing system was discovered July 16 and was immediately patched.
The incident revealed the unencrypted names, contact information, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, military jobs and other records of nearly 2.8 million living individuals and 294,000 who are deceased. The type of data exposed varies by person.
DMDC oversees identity verification for all DoD ID card holders. It maintains the records of more than 60 million troops and veterans, current and former civilian employees, contractors and military family members.