Did DHS leak your personal data?

This week the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an organization we rely on the protect us and keep the country safe, revealed that, perhaps, it has not protected its own employees. According to the security report issued by ThreatPost, the organization has begun the notification process about a possible information leak.

“The Department of Homeland Security this week began notifying up to tens of thousands of employees, contractors and others with a DHS security clearance that their personal data may be at risk” writes TP’s Anne Saita.

In a statement to it’s web site, DHS announced “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recently learned of a vulnerability that existed in the software used by a DHS vendor to process personnel security investigations”. Not exactly the news any employee wishes to hear.

Those impacted included employees, contractors who submitted background investigation information and anyone else seeking a DHS clearance between July 2009 and May 2013, employees at headquarters, Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The DHS stresses that it has no indication that data was accessed by any third-party, but is still recommending that those affected, which is thousands, take proper precautions.

Photo Credit: Bigstock / Security word on white keyboard