270,000 UK forces records thought to have been exposed to Chinese hackers

Payroll data at risk includes names, bank details and addresses of current and former force members, government sources suggest

An estimated 270,000 payroll records belonging to nearly all members of Britain’s armed forces have been exposed to Chinese hackers in a breach at a third-party contractor that was discovered a few days ago.

The data at risk includes names and bank details and, in a few thousand instances, addresses and national insurance numbers of current and recently departed members of the army, navy and air force, government sources indicated.