Federal Database of the FAA Hacked, Confidential Data Stolen

On 11 Feb 2009

It has recently come to light that someone with obvious malicious intent managed to hack into a computer of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and electronically stole the personal identity information tens of thousand of employees. The FAA has taken steps to ensure such a data breach will be prevented in the future and will also alert all affected parties.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued this notice: “The FAA is moving quickly to prevent any similar incidents and has identified immediate steps as well as longer-term measures to further protect personal information. The agency is also providing a toll-free number and information on the employee website for those who believe they may be affected by the breach. Two of the 48 files on the breached computer server contained personal information about more than 45,000 FAA employees and retirees who were on the FAA’s rolls as of the first week of February 2006."

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Further investigations on the matter have brought to light the fact that no air traffic control systems or operational systems have been targeted or compromised by the recent hacking. It is yet unclear who and for what ends perpetrated the attack, but the appropriate law enforcement agencies have been notified and an investigation is currently taking place.

Tom Waters, Tom Waters, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3290 comments: “These government systems should be the best in the world, and apparently they are able to be compromised. Our information technology systems people need to take a long, hard look at themselves and their capabilities. This is malpractice in their world."

In related news, a Romanian hacker going by the name of Unu (which roughly translates into One) has uncovered an SQL injection vulnerability affecting the web pages of two of the most well-known security solutions providers on the market today: Kaspersky and BitDefender.

Tags: FAA, Hacker, Federal Aviation Administration

About the author: George Norman

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