The Department of Veteran's Affairs failure to sufficiently heed warnings to secure access to personal data on millions of U.S. veterans could conceivably result in one of our nation's largest cases of identity theft.

Though it was only reported a few days ago, the theft of data pertaining to over 26 million veterans occurred early in May when the data was "stolen" from the home of an "unidentified" V.A. employee. The V.A. failed to notify the Justice Department until late last week, nor did they advise veterans on a timely basis.

V.A. Inspector-General Jon Wooditch, in a briefing paper to Congress, indicated that he was "closely reviewing the theft from a V.A. data analyst's Maryland home," and further noted that "his office had long cautioned that access controls were weak."

The V.A. indicated that the personal information stolen from a mid-level employee's home, in what is suspected as a routine burglary, pertains to veterans primarily discharged after 1975. The personal information included the veteran's social security numbers and disability ratings, however, the V.A. did not disclose whether the information included the nature of the veteran's disability.

The newspapers report that Jim Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, who was endorsed by the Coalition, sought to downplay the seriousness of the incident, claiming that there was no evidence that the burglar's used the information or even knew they had it. According to privacy experts, the potential for fraud is significant. In 2004 alone 3.6 million U.S. households, or 3 in every 100, reported being victims of identity theft.

After the burglary, the V.A. employee promptly advised the V.A. which did not notify the FBI until late last week. The "burglars" who struck the employee's home, took a government owned laptop and discs. We can only wonder if that was the only item stolen, and if so, WHY???

The V.A.'s failure to act swiftly to protect those who have protected our nation is disappointing. Not fully knowing the circumstances of the burglary, one with experience in security would be skeptical. During the Cold War, the Soviet's attempted to compromise U.S. military and government personnel by placing them in embarrassing situations and threatening revelation thereof. Could this be the case with the V.A. and it's employee? Should Vietnam Veterans experienced in field interrogation be employed to obtain the truth? Given the magnitude of the incident, and the delay in it's revelation, it's resolution and reckoning must be swift.

Today, Secretary Nicholson advised Congress that he was outraged by the incident.

TO BE CONTINUED....