Data of 237,000 US government employees breached

Data of 237,000 US government employees breached

Technology

The department is investigating the breach and has frozen access to the transit benefit system

 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The personal information of 237,000 current and former federal government employees has been exposed in a data breach at the U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT), sources briefed on the matter said.

The breach hit systems for processing TRANServe transit benefits that reimburse government employees for some commuting costs. It was not clear if any of the personal information had been used for criminal purposes.

USDOT said in a statement that the breach did not affect any transportation safety systems. It did not say who might be responsible for the hack.

The department is investigating the breach and has frozen access to the transit benefit system until it has been secured and restored, it said.

The maximum benefit allowance is $280 per month for federal employee mass transit commuting costs.