Navy Probing Release of Sailors’ Data

The Navy has begun a criminal investigation after Social Security numbers and other personal data for 28,000 sailors and family members were found on a civilian website.

The Navy said Friday that the information was in five documents and included people’s names, birth dates and Social Security numbers. Navy spokesman Lt. Justin Cole would not identify the website or its owner, but said the information had been removed. He would not provide any details about how the information ended up on the site.

Cole said there was no indication that the information was used illegally, but individuals involved were being contacted and encouraged to monitor their bank accounts and credit cards.

Meanwhile, the General Accountability Office said it had removed archival records from its website last week containing some personal identifying information of fewer than 1,000 government workers. The data included some individual names and Social Security numbers.

The breach regarding the Navy comes amid a rash of government computer data thefts, including one at the Agriculture Department last week in which a hacker may have gotten names, Social Security numbers and photos of 26,000 Washington-area employees and contractors.

As many as 26.5 million veterans and current military troops may have been affected by the theft of a laptop containing their Social Security numbers and birthdates. The computer was taken from the home of a Veterans Affairs Department employee in early May; officials waited until May 22 to notify veterans of the theft.

As many as half a dozen federal agencies have been affected by computer data losses in recent months.

In a letter Friday to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, one member of Congress asked for details on the Navy incident and questioned whether the Defense Department would ensure that free credit help was provided for those affected.

U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said he had asked Rumsfeld two years ago about the implications of federal agencies’ outsourcing data collection and processing. Although there is no indication that outsourcing was the problem in the Navy case, Markey said he wanted to know what effect that would have on the security of information on military personnel.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is probing the breach. The discovery was made by the Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command, which monitors the Web for such problems.

The Navy said individuals could place a 90-day fraud alert on their credit reports, and gave information on companies to contact. Cole said there was no decision yet on whether the Navy would pay for credit monitoring.