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Hackers breach Department of Energy, steal personal data from 14,000 employees

Hackers breach Department of Energy, steal personal data from 14,000 employees

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department of energy
department of energy

The US Department of Energy (DOE) was hacked in late July, an incident that revealed the personally identifiable information (PII) of some 14,000 government employees. According to a memo posted by The Wall Street Journal, the DOE revealed the extent of the hack on Wednesday, saying that both current and former employees may have been affected and that the organization would be providing credit-monitoring and identity theft prevention tools for everyone who was part of the incident. It's not clear exactly what information the hackers made off with, but the DOE did indicate that no classified information was stolen — however, the stolen PII could be a tool the hackers use to get access to sensitive government systems.

It's the second hack on the DOE this year — the first took place in February, but only a few hundred employees had their information compromised in that incident. Despite the relatively small size of the first hack, getting invaded twice within the same year is not a good sign for the DOE, particularly when considering the sensitivity of the work the organization deals in. Hacks on the government are rare enough, but seeing the DOE get hit twice in such a short period of time has to be a concern — particularly given the sensitive nature of the DOE's business (like the country's nuclear weapons and waste programs). The DOE didn't offer up any details on where this most recent hack originated from, or whether or not it is related to February's incident.