US Federal Aviation Administration server hacked, details of 45,000 employees compromised

Hackers have broken into another secure database and obtained potentially harmful personal information. The US Federal Aviation Administration notified employees on Monday that an agency computer server was hacked last week. According to the FAA, the hackers obtained access to the names and Social Security numbers of more than 45,000 employees and FAA retirees.

"All affected employees will receive individual letters to notify them about the breach," said the FAA statement. "The FAA is moving quickly to prevent similar incidents and has identified immediate steps as well as longer-term measures to further protect personal information."

''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,'' the statement said.

Federal agency security breaches of this magnitude are not new. One of the most significant in recent years was the theft, in May 2006, of a US Department of Veterans Affairs laptop and hard drive that contained personal data for 26.5 million veterans and active-duty personnel.

That incident spawned an overhaul of the VA's IT infrastructure and also prompted the resignation of the VA's general counsel. Later that year, in August, came the theft of a Department of Defense laptop that affected 30,000 Navy applicants.