The recent theft of U.S. veteran data is a huge headache for anyone who has served in the armed forces. Basically, any veteran who was discharged since 1975 may have had their full name, social security number, and data of birth stolen. Its only a matter of time before this information gets to the crime syndicates and bogus financial accounts begin popping up. It’s an identity thief’s dream.
The website FirstGov.gov has more information for veterans. If you’re a vet like me, please keep watch on your credit report and immediately notify your financial institutions if you discover fraud.
The head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs faced angry lawmakers on Thursday and described how the theft of a device the size of an iPod containing personal data on 26.5 million veterans may cost taxpayers as much as $500 million.
http://news.com.com/VA+data+theft+may+cost+500+million/2100-1029_3-6077062.html
Here is what The Progress Report had on this subject this morning:
GOVERNMENT — 26.5 MILLION VETERANS AT RISK OF IDENTITY THEFT: Yesterday, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that as many as 26.5 million veterans were at risk of identity theft “after an intruder stole an electronic data file this month containing their names, birth dates and Social Security numbers from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs employee.” Any veteran discharged after 1975 and some spouses, “as well as some veterans discharged before then who submitted a claim for VA benefits,” may be affected by the theft. “In terms of Social Security numbers, it’s the biggest breach,” said Evan Hendricks, publisher of the Privacy Times newsletter. The burglary occurred on May 3, but the government waited two weeks to notify the public of the stolen records, hoping to catch the thieves without tipping them off to the valuable information. In Nov. 2005, the VA Inspector General criticized the department for its lax security: “VA has not been able to effectively address its significant information security vulnerabilities and reverse the impact of its historically decentralized management approach.” Yesterday, in “one of those perfect Washington ironies,” President Bush’s Identity Theft Task Force met for the first time. Created by a May 10 executive order, one of the task force’s missions was to increase “safeguards that Federal departments, agencies, and instrumentalities can implement to better secure government-held personal data.” The VA’s announcement shows the task force needs to look at vulnerabilities in other government agencies. As the Washington Post notes, “How many other government departments treat sensitive information this casually?” For more information on whether you may be affected by the theft, go here.