[ISN] Navy: Exposed personal data was Katrina-related

[InfoSec News]

http://www.fcw.com/article95068-06-27-06-Web

By Bob Brewin
June 27, 2006 

The Navy said the personal information of more than 30,000 sailors
that a civilian Web site exposed pertains to sailors and their
families located in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Lt. Justin Cole, a spokesman for the chief of naval personnel, said
the Navy collected the personal information in relation to hurricane
relief operations.

Cole said the Navy has no idea how someone published the information
on the Web site. The site has removed that information. Cole declined
to identify the site or its purpose, but he said it was not a medical
or health information Web site.

The Navy said last week it first became aware of the exposure of the
personal information June 22 in a report by the Joint Task
Force-Global Network Operations the Navy Cyber Defense Operations
Command, part of the Naval Network Warfare Command (Netwarcom).

The personal information was contained in five spreadsheet files on
the Web site and included the name, birth dates and Social Security
numbers of sailors and family members, the Navy said.

The service mailed letters to all 30,618 service members and their
families affected by the incident, the Navy added. The service said it
has no evidence that someone has illegally used the personal
information on the Web site.

Cole said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating
the incident. But he declined to provide further details.