INSIDE JOB

Pentagon Says Air Force Engineer Took Home Entire Comms Network

The breach reportedly stemmed from an engineer at an Air Force facility.

The Air Force is investigating one of its engineers after he allegedly orchestrated a “critical compromise” of the communications system, Forbes reported Saturday, citing a search warrant. The engineer, a 48-year-old employee at Tennessee’s Arnold Air Force Base, allegedly took $90,000 worth of government radio technologies home for his own use. When his house was raided, investigators said they discovered that he possessed software that was running “the entire Arnold Air Force Base (AAFB) communications system.” The security breach is said to have impacted communications systems at 17 Air Force facilities and possibly the FBI and various Tennessee state agencies. The government did not reveal the breadth or nature of the information taken. The engineer, who wasn’t identified by Forbes, reportedly declined to comment, as did the Air Force and FBI.