March 6th, 2009
FAA confirms data breach; 45,000 affected
A computer breach at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has led to the theft of personal information on more than 45,000 employees and retirees, the agency confirmed this week.
All told, the FAA said the hackers hijacked 48 files, two containing sensitive personal information that could expose the employees and retirees to identity theft.
From the statement:
- Two of the 48 files on the breached computer server contained personal information about more than 45,000 FAA employees and retirees who were on the FAA’s rolls as of the first week of February 2006.
- The server that was accessed was not connected to the operation of the air traffic control system or any other FAA operational system, and the FAA has no indication those systems have been compromised in any way.
- Appropriate law enforcement agencies have been notified and are investigating the data theft.
FCW reports that the FAA was doing such a good job at protecting data in its computer systems that the Office of Management and Budget chose it to be one of four agencies to guide other federal agencies in their cybersecurity efforts.
Ryan Naraine is a journalist and security evangelist at Kaspersky Lab. He manages Threatpost.com, a security news portal. Here is Ryan's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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