Hacker swipes Air Force officers' data

SAN ANTONIO, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- A hacker stole personal information on half of the officers in the U.S. Air Force by using a legitimate user's log-in information, a report said.

The Air Force Friday notified some 33,000 officers information such as Social Security numbers, academic records and marital status was hacked sometime in May or June, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Security on the career tracking system has since been enhanced. Maj. Gen. Anthony Przybyslawski said military and civilian agencies were conducting a "wall-to-wall review" at the Air Force Personnel Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The Air Force said no incidents of identity fraud have been reported, but warned officers to monitor their credit reports.

The hacker attack is the latest in two years of breaches in government and private data that has exposed millions of U.S. consumers to possible fraud.

Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer for Counterpane Internet Security Inc., said data security has been weak.

"The Pentagon is no different than ChoicePoint, CardSystems or Time Warner," Schneier said. "People aren't taking it seriously, so this happens."