Data about Navy sailors found on public Web site

WASHINGTON - Navy officials this week discovered that personal data for nearly 28,000 sailors and family members was compromised when it appeared on a public Web site, fueling more concerns about the security of sensitive information belonging to federal employees.

Five spreadsheet files of data - including names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of sailors and their relatives - were found exposed on a Web site Thursday night during routine internal sweeps of the Internet for sensitive material, said Lt. Justin Cole, a spokesman for the Chief of Naval Personnel. He said the material was removed from the Web site within two hours.

"It was information you don't want on a public Web site," Cole said. "But there was no indication it was being used for illegal purposes."

The potential security breach is one of several such losses of important personal data reported in Washington in recent weeks, part of an unusual string of thefts and Internet hacks that has compromised information belonging to millions of federal workers. Four other federal agencies have reported similar problems since the beginning of May.

The largest breach came on May 9, when a Veterans Affairs laptop and external hard drive were stolen from a home in suburban Aspen Hill, Md., a theft that officials said included the personal information of up to 26.5 million retirees and active duty personnel.

There was no indication that the theft was targeting that information.

This week, the Agriculture Department reported that as many as 26,000 employees had their data compromised by a hacker. The Energy Department reported this month that similar data for 1,500 employees might have been accessed by a hacker in September, and IRS officials said a laptop containing names, Social Security numbers and fingerprints of 291 employees and applications was misplaced in May.