The government decided it wasn't important to tell veterans that their private and personal information, including social security numbers, had been stolen and out in the open for 29 days.
Think of the damage a thief could be doing currently with almost a three week head start and Social Security numbers and birth dates of every living veteran from 1975 to the present.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales finally decided after 19 days to spring into action.
I'm glad you're on top of things, Mr. Attorney General. I'm still amazed by the 19 days to announce part of this story. This was a major "FUBAR" moment, and some heads in the VA should roll over this gigantic disclosure of private info.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Authorities waited almost three weeks to alert the public that personal data on more than 26 million U.S. veterans had fallen into the hands of thieves, a government source said Tuesday.
The data were on a laptop and external drive stolen May 3 in an apparent random burglary from the Montgomery County, Maryland, home of a Department of Veterans Affairs computer analyst, said the government source, who has been briefed on the issue.
The government did not immediately announce the theft because officials had hoped to catch the culprits and did not want to tip them off about what they had stolen for fear they would sell it, the government source said.
On Monday, officials abandoned that plan and alerted the public.
Tags: [Source: Theft of vets' data kept secret for 19 days], [personal data on more than 26 million U.S. veterans had fallen into the hands of thieves], [computer disk contained the names, Social Security numbers and birth dates of every living veteran from 1975 to the present], [Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson], [VA], [veterans], [Attorney General Alberto Gonzales]
No comments:
Post a Comment