Personal data on 2.2 million troops stolen
By Will Dunham

Personal information on about 2.2 million active-duty, National Guard and Reserve troops was stolen last month from a government employee's house, officials said on Tuesday in the latest revelation of a widening scandal.

This means nearly all current U.S. military personnel may be at risk for identify theft, the Pentagon said.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said the information, including names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth, may have been stored in the same stolen electronic equipment that contained similar personal data on 26.5 million U.S. military veterans.

Lawmakers and veterans' advocates have expressed alarm that the government failed to safeguard the data, which in the wrong hands could be used in credit card fraud and other crimes.

Law enforcement agencies investigating the incident have no indication the stolen information has been used to commit identity theft, officials said.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson disclosed last month that unidentified burglars on May 3 broke into the Maryland residence of a Veterans Affairs data analyst who had violated official procedures by taking the data home. The thieves stole equipment containing the veterans' data.

The government over the weekend said personal information on about 50,000 active-duty, National Guard and Reserve personnel may also have been involved in the theft.

But now Veterans Affairs said that as it and the Pentagon compared electronic files, officials discovered that personal information on as many as 1.1 million military members on active duty, 430,000 National Guard troops and 645,000 members of the Reserves may have been taken in the theft.

'CAREFULLY MONITOR'

Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said, "We want to encourage service members to be vigilant and carefully monitor their personal information and any statements related to recent financial transactions."

Whitman said the Pentagon was helping Veterans Affairs inform the affected military personnel about steps they can take to protect against identity theft.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said it receives records for all military troops because they become eligible to receive certain benefits, such as GI Bill educational assistance and a home-loan guaranty program.

Veterans groups have criticized the government for allowing personal data to be compromised and for responding slowly to the theft. Officials have said Nicholson first heard of the May 3 crime on May 16 and only informed the public on May 22, almost three weeks after the theft occurred.

"VA remains committed to providing updates on this incident as new information is learned," Nicholson said in a statement.

Nicholson previously has said the senior career data analyst who took the information home would be fired and that a senior official in whose office the employee worked had been placed on administrative leave. Another senior Veterans Affairs official has resigned.

The burglary from the employee's home in Aspen Hill, Maryland, involved a laptop computer with an external disk drive, officials have said.

Identity theft, or obtaining personal or financial information about someone else to make transactions in that person's name, has mushroomed with the growth of the Internet and electronic business.




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Data Theft Affected Most in Military

By Ann Scott Tyson and Christopher Lee

Social Security numbers and other personal information for as many as 2.2 million U.S. military personnel -- including nearly 80 percent of the active-duty force -- were among the data stolen from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs analyst last month, federal officials said yesterday,...

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2006/20060606_5349.html



Current Servicemembers Possibly Affected by VA Data Loss
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, June 6, 2006 – Active-duty servicemembers and members of the National Guard and Reserves may be affected by the recent personal data loss by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the VA announced today.
The VA announced over the weekend that the records stolen from the home of a VA representative in May might include personal information of people currently in the military, according to a VA news release. Initial findings from VA indicated the personal information on about 50,000 active duty, National Guard and Reserve personnel may have been involved.

As the two agencies compared electronic files, VA and DoD learned that personal information on as many as 1.1 million active-duty servicemembers, 430,000 National Guardsmen, and 645,000 members of the Reserves may have been included in the data theft, according to today's release.

In May, the VA learned that an employee took home electronic data without authorization, in violation of established VA policies. The employee's home was burglarized and the data were stolen. Included were names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth for up to 26.5 million veterans.

The VA receives records for every new accession and military enlistee because active-duty personnel and National Guardsmen and Reservists are eligible to receive certain VA benefits, according to the release.

"VA remains committed to providing updates on this incident as new information is learned," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson. "The department will continue to make every effort to inform and help protect those potentially affected, and is working with the Department of Defense to notify all affected personnel."

Nicholson said VA is currently in discussions with several entities regarding credit-monitoring services to determine how veterans and active-duty personnel potentially affected can best be served. The VA has received no reports that the stolen data has been used for fraudulent purposes.

Several resources are available to servicemembers and veterans who may have been affected by this data loss:


The VA has set up a special Web site and a toll-free telephone number: http://www.firstgov.gov and 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636). Each features up-to-date news and information on the data compromise. The Web site provides steps on how to check credit reports, how to guard against identity theft and who to call if an individual believes any fraudulent activity is occurring with his or her personal information.
Information relating to the defeat of identify theft also is available at http://www.militaryonesource.com.