Navy Investigating Personal Data Leak

The personal information of nearly 100,000 Navy and Marine soldiers was publicly available on the Web for nearly six months, the Navy disclosed on Friday. However, it said it was at a loss to explain how it occurred and an investigation was underway.

For an unknown reason, the data appeared on the www.safetycenter.navy.mil Web site last December. It is believed any Naval or Marine aviator, both active and reserve, who served in the past two decades had their personal information leaked.

Included in the compromised data were names and social security numbers. Making matters worse, the information also was included on 1,083 disks mailed out as part of the Navy's Web safety initiative.

Until last Thursday, the data sat on the site, when it was discovered and quickly removed. The Navy is now in the process of contacting those affected, and said it will setup a special phone number for those affected to call. Additionally, the disks have been recalled as a safety measure.

No reports of identity theft have been received as a result of the accidental data disclosure. Navy representatives are blaming the problem on a file that was placed in a public rather than private directory.

This latest issue of leaked personal information of military personnel comes only a week after a stolen laptop containing the data and social security numbers of some 26 million plus armed forces veterans and active duty personnel was recovered. There have been no incidences of identity theft from that leak, either.