Veterans whose personal information was stolen on May 3rd have had their 1 free year of credit monitoring revoked by the Bush Administration. The government decided to revoke the $160.5 million option because the laptop was recovered and it appears like nothing on either the laptop nor external hard drive were accessed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13919172/
While the government has assured us that neither has been accessed, they have not told us specifically how they know the data remained private. It took them over a week just to tell us just how the laptop had been recovered. Almost seems like there is quite a bit that they are not telling us.
One of the reasons for this has to include getting back at the VA office for their actions. The government has criticized the VA office for their poor security measures, especially with laptops, http://www.essentialsecurity.com/howitworks_laptop.htm. In addition, the VA waited 2 full weeks before notifying the government of the theft. While the security was very lax, the government did not establish any distinct regulations on laptop security until recently. http://www.techknowbizzle.com/2006/06/us-government-finally-sets-standards.html
No matter what the reason may be, all of those 26.5 million vets still deserve free credit monitoring. Even if the Gov is 110% sure that the data wasnt accessed, the vets should still recieve some benefits for their troubles. Vets should not take even MORE heat from the government because of what the VA office did. While vets are still involved within the VA office, they still were considered government employees while in service.
Now is that really a great way to treat your former employees?
