The Pentagon is probing a major breach, termed a “critical compromise”, involving communications across 17 Air Force facilities. The suspect, a 48-year-old engineer at Tennessee’s Arnold Air Force Base, is also implicated in a potential FBI communications leak.
The engineer is accused of unlawfully removing government radio technologies, approximated at $90,000, from his workplace. The suspect had unauthorized administrative access to Air Education and Training Command (AETC) radio communication systems, impacting several Department of Defense installations.
The investigation, launched after the FBI and DoD discovered that the suspect had the entire Arnold Air Force Base communications system on his home computer, follows a similar breach just three months ago. While the government has not specified the extent of the compromised information, the recent breaches have highlighted significant security gaps within the Pentagon’s communication systems.
The engineer, who has not yet been charged, reportedly has a history in cybersecurity and radio communications. Forensic analysis revealed that he possessed administrative passwords and electronic system keys for the AETC radio network. The FBI, although not commenting publicly, is aiding the Air Force in the ongoing investigation.