A hacker claimed he or she had stolen the personal information of about 2,500 LAPD officers, trainees and recruits, along with approximately 17,500 police officer applicants, according to a news report. 

The report notes the city's Information Technology Agency said it was contacted by someone who claimed to have accessed and downloaded the data, and the person offered some example files to show they actually had obtained the data, said agency General Manager Ted Ross. "Out of an abundance of caution we're applying extra layers of security around our personnel system and enhancing defenses," Ross told the news report.

Ross said the apparent hacker claimed to have downloaded a "subset" of the city's police officer applicant data, and additional work was being done by the ITA to learn the full damage of the potential theft. Ross said it's not clear whether the hacker did have access to the 17,500 applications and the personal information of 2,500 LAPD officer he claimed to have. It may take days or weeks to learn what was personally identifiable information was compromised and how the data was obtained, says the report.The hacker said they had, "received it through external sources," Ross explained, which could indicate he was not provided with the information by a former, rogue or current employee. 

The affected officers, trainees and applicants received notices of a data breach in an email, which told the officers that their information was impacted in a breach contained within the Personnel Department's Candidate Applicant Program. The compromised data included the officers' names, dates of birth, parts of their social security numbers and the email addresses and passwords they set up when applying for the job, according to the message.