Lack Of Proper Security... Or Lack Of Respect For Veterans?

Vast Data Cache About Veterans Is Stolen

Personal electronic information on up to 26.5 million military veterans, including their Social Security numbers and birth dates, was stolen from the residence of a Department of Veterans Affairs employee who had taken the data home without authorization, the agency said Monday.

The department said that there was no evidence any of the information had been used illegally and that whoever stole it, in a burglary of the employee's home this month, might be unaware of its nature or how to use it. The stolen data do not include any health records or financial information, the agency said.

But it was immediately clear from the sheer numbers involved, as well as the tone of the announcement and the steps taken in the aftermath of the theft, that the breach was deeply embarrassing to the agency.

"As a result of this incident, information identifiable with you was potentially exposed to others," Jim Nicholson, the secretary of veterans affairs, wrote in a letter being sent to the veterans who might be affected.

As measured by the number of people potentially affected, the data loss is exceeded only by a breach last June at CardSystems Solutions, a payment processor, in which the accounts of 40 million credit card holders were compromised in a hacking incident.

One has to question whether this is a typical lack of security at some of the highest levels of government (remembering that the VA is a cabinet department) or if this is reflective of the lip service that is so often paid to veteran issues and concerns by the Bush administartion... "We respect and honor our service members and veterans...", but we ignore you, your needs, and the sanctity of your care, records and benefits promised when you served.

The next time Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzalez, Nicholson and Rice talk about respecting and honoring our service members and veterans, they ought to be hit with rotting cabbage, eggs and tomatoes. Bullshit should be mixed with vegetable matter to make better fertilizer.