Personal information on about 26,000 Washington, D.C.-area employees and contractors of the U.S. Department of Agriculture may be at risk after <A HREF="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6086794.html?tag=zdnn.alert">a hacking incident</A> earlier this month, officials said Wednesday. It's still unknown whether the hacker actually managed to obtain the names, Social Security numbers and photographs of the individuals whose information was housed on the affected database, the agency said. The database also contained information that is "readily available to the public" but no financial or health records.