The USDA has more than just a bit of egg on their face, as it has been revealed that the personal details of up to 26,000 people may have been stolen during a breach of security a few weeks ago. A hacker managed to penetrate the USDA's network, which would have given them access to records including social security numbers, names, and more. They are quickly making people aware that this happened, though initially it was thought the hacker may not have taken anything:
The federal agency's cybersecurity staff noticed suspicious activity on a couple of its machines during the weekend of June 3, indicating that an outsider was trying to gain illegal access. When staff members first notified Johanns of the incident three days later, they assured him that the personal information had sufficient protections to dispel concerns about identity theft.
Later, they stated that it is uncertain as to what could have been taken. Being that identity theft is becoming more common, and the amount of identity theft occurring from records stolen online is increasing, people did have cause to worry.