Veterans Data Stolen

From the article:

Personal data, including Social Security numbers of 26.5 million U.S. veterans, was stolen from a Veterans Affairs employee this month after he took the info home without proper authorization, the department said today.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said there has been no evidence so far that the burglars who struck the employee's home have used the personal data or even they have it. The employee, whom Nicholson would not identify, has been placed on leave pending a review.

There is a full-scale investigation involving the FBI, local law enforcement & the VA inspector general. No medical records of any veteran & no financial info of any veterans had not been compromised.

The theft of the stolen info comes as the dept. has come under criticism for shoddy accounting practices & for falling short on the needs of veterans. Last year, more than 260,000 veterans could not sign up for services because of cost-cutting. Audits also have shown the agency used misleading accounting methods & lacked documentation to prove its claimed savings.

Today, the VA said it's in the process of notifying members of Congress & the individual veterans about the burglary, setting up a call center & a Web site if veterans believe their info has been misused.

The material represents personal data of all living veterans who served & have been discharged since 1976, according to the department. The info was included the veterans' discharge summary that goes into a government database. Information for veterans suspecting identity theft can be obtained by visiting: http://www.firstgov.gov or by calling their number at 1-800-FED-INFO.