Source: Theft of vets' data kept secret for 19 days

[sabra]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/23/vets.data/

Source: Theft of vets' data kept secret for 19 days
Social Security numbers of 26 million-plus veterans stolen

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.

[VegasWolf]

1. Jeez, the Bush admin is a group of worthless fucking bastards. nt

[MindPilot]

2. Aren't we just one big happy dysfunctional family

Just like Bush sitting on his ass while 3000 Americans died and FEMA's too-little-too-late response to Katrina, the policy of this government seems to be ignore a problem and hope it goes away.

[redqueen]

3. Huh? They didn't want to tip them off for fear they would sell it?

Does that make sense to anyone?

[gratuitous]

8. I won't go so far as to say it makes sense

But the line they're selling is that whoever stole the data might not have taken the time to examine it too closely or realize quite what a jackpot they had in hand, and that by announcing it, the thief or thieves could command top dollar from a fence. I guess.

But a 19-day lag between theft and announcement of theft is just unconscionable. Identity thieves can clean you out in a matter of hours. Given 19 days and that much information, any respectable thief would be set for life. This story just doesn't add up on a lot of levels.

[ladjf]

9. Yes. If the thieves stole the laptop and disks they might not have

been aware of the potential presented by the veteran's records.

The question that comes to my mind is weren't the records and the laptop protected by passwords?
I know that passwords can be broken but it requires considerable expertise and good software to do so. It would have been better if the value had been kept quiet.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

4. The NSA needed the time to merge it with their master database

Just under three weeks- that's probably just about right.

[acmavm]

10. I'm with you on this one.

[UpInArms]

5. Something really smells with this story -

if this person took this information home to work on it - why was it not being worked on (had to be left lying around in "home" so that burglars could take it) on the one(?) night it was to be in this home(?).

Sorry, I'm not buying this bullshit crop of crappola.

[Le Taz Hot]

7. You bet it does!

The crap being fed to us is that it was some local thugs, probably stealing stuff for a drug habit, yada yada yada. I've DEALT with drug addicts and they may take the computer but the diskettes? Nope. And didn't take the microwave? TV? Stereo? This stuff is easy to slip out the back jack and fence. You're right. Something absolutely stinks about this story. Follow da' money.

[ladjf]

11. I was a database administrator in a large corporation. No one

would have dreamed of walking out of the building with disks containing production company data. (and it wasn't nearly as valuable as the veteran's data). In fact, the only removable disks made were for backups that were handled by the librarians and was immediately transported to secure off-site locations. And, that data could only be deciphered by company, proprietary software and multiple password and login barriers. The laptops contained no data, only software for remote logins.

If the person who took the data out of the office was in on some type of scam, he/she had to know that (1) they would be fired and (2) they would be investigated and caught.

[Robbien]

13. That is the first question I had when hearing the report

The talking head said it was stolen from a reporter's home desk and then . . .nothing. No story followup, no nothing.

There's a story here that the powers that be do not want told.

[bluerum]

16. I agree. The "systems analyst" or clerk is a set up.

I smell a concocted scheme to blame some clerk for being a commie traitor thief.

The people who set him up have the data they wanted and there is no trail back to them no matter what happens.

Now what?

Look out for:

1. Voter fraud - dead vets voting and the rest of it

2. Mailing campaigns to vets and their families

3. Recruiting campaigns from paramilitary/mercenary groups

4. Requests for political support and donations to support the pro-defense politicians (repukian variety) etc.

5. Someone needs steal/assume the idenities of veterans for short to moderatly long time periods.

Can you tell that I think this is much more sinister than some clerk stealing some records? I really suspect that the clerk is CIA/NSA. All this is too coincidental with the recent CIA/NSA head resignation/nomination events.

[merwin]

6. Databases with 29,000,000 SSN's (and most likely names and info to go

along with them) are not normally stored on laptops. The sheer size of those databases would make it near impossible to do anything productive with the data on a laptop.

There's something fishy about this...

[CabalPowered]

21. I was just thinking the same thing.

It could be compressed but if that's the case then it's obviously premeditation on behalf of the employee.

[NoAmericanTaliban]

12. Something smells fishy here - they were hoping not to get caught

losing all these records. Also, the person who took the records home and not been identified so far & all that happend so far is that he/she has been reprimanded. They should be fired & prosecuted - wonder if they are a bush crony.

[CountAllVotes]

14. luckily I just ran a credit check on the veteran in my house

You might want to do the same just to be sure nothing fishy has happened. You can get a free credit report at either of these sites:

www.freecreditreport.com

or

www.annualcreditreport.com

Luckily nothing unusual came up. *whew*

:dem: :kick:

[lapfog_1]

15. Doesn't this whole story seem a bit odd

It's been mentioned on many news reports that there was a strict policy against taking personal data out of the facility.

So some staffer (contractor?) loads up 26 million records, and walks out. Then he/she reports that the computer was stolen from their house. 20 days later (so as not to tip off anyone in case they don't know what they have) it gets reported to the media.

My first thought is that this was an intentional "inside job". Nobody, even someone doing database development, needs all the records... and it's likely that this is a specific "view" of the complete database, having only some of the information on each entry (name, SSN, DOB, address, maybe a few other things). More than that and you are talking hundreds of GBs, which, while possible in a laptop, it's still a substantial amount of data.

So, if an inside job, why report it stolen... well, could be that the person who took the data out was worried that a pattern of ID theft would point back to the VA and it's database, so he/she decided to take the money for selling the database, but then try to CYA by reporting the computer stolen. Possible.

Or there is something else going on. Some sort of black op aimed at veterans?

There just isn't any reason for anyone to take 1 view of the complete database home on the laptop.

[Corgigal]

18. CYA by reporting the computer stolen

This is also what I believe. We should form our own DU detective squad. Couldn't be worst then what the federal govt offers.

I just signed up for 4.95 a month monitoring service. I don't feel comfortable not doing something.

[lapfog_1]

22. Ah, hmmm....

well, I *used* to do that function (computer security) for the Federal Government.

(But I was just in charge of securing networks for my local NASA facility, nothing beyond that).

[TheCowsCameHome]

17. Why am I not surprised - they think they can do as they please.

[truebrit71]

19. I think that's called a cover-up isn't it?

Why did the employee have that information in the first place...??

[Rex]

20. Fuck them! 19 days...what total bullshit. This story is a fabrication.

The Army just doesn't 'lose' 29 million SSN. Wonder what Hayden REALLY wants with all that info?

[superconnected]

23. Who would want this information

a private army?

A group that wants funding for their private army?

I agree that this is fishy as heck. The data should't have been amassed like that and it shouldn't have left the bldg, and reporting it took way too long.

It looks like an inside job. Now we just have to follow the money/motive.

[Corgigal]

25. I think the Russian mafia

personally. Seems like most of the ID theft's start overseas but work it's way here.

[VegasWolf]

24. Our government says that any vet who has his/her identity stolen is on

their OWN! The government will not help in any way with legal bills, or any kind of assistance. I feel sorry for these vets who are men of honor who worked for a government that has no honor and that used them just like so many machines and then discards them.

[steely]

26. Any of you get a letter yet? I haven't.

This has me steamed - and they actually let someone take sensitive stuff like this home? How is screening an employee for a clearance going to prevent this from happening in the future - if they don't at least lock down the data?

What a complete bunch of unprofessional assholes.

[Rex]

28. I keep asking myself how much more personal does it have to get?

Bad enough I'm stuck with AT&T.

[Evil Bush]

27. Why was this ever on an external HD?

.

[VegasWolf]

29. Yes, you can get one hell of a database on a 300GB drive! nt