SecurityProNews unhappily reports a new recipient of the Idiot Watch award has emerged from the pack. The unnamed male data analyst who took the data home had not been authorized to do so. He has been placed on administrative leave by the Department of Veterans Affairs while an investigation takes place.
The VA posted an Important Announcement on the homepage of its website, describing the loss:
This data contained identifying information including names, social security numbers, and dates of birth for up to 26.5 million veterans and some spouses, as well as some disability ratings. Importantly, the affected data did not include any of VA's electronic health records nor any financial information.
The VA's Inspector General's office and the FBI have launched investigations into the crime. Presently the VA believes that the thief or thieves were likely unaware of the data reportedly contained on disks when they stole them from the data analyst's home.
Notification of the data loss is in the process of being sent to veterans. The VA will send letters and has announced that veterans can visit FirstGov or the VA's Public Affairs office online for more information.
Also, the VA has set up a call center at 1-800-FED-INFO (333-4636) to answer questions about the situation and advise on consumer identity protections.
Veterans discharged since 1975, or those who were discharged earlier and later filed a claim with the VA, are the ones affected by this massive exposure of personal information.
Except for the CardSystems Solutions debacle last summer, which exposed credit card information for some 40 million customers to criminals, the VA incident has resulted in the biggest breach of security for personal information.
Worse, the VA info contained names, Social Security numbers, and birth dates, all of which make identity theft an easier criminal prospect.
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