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Veterans Affairs Recovers Stolen Data
David Utter
Staff Writer
2006-06-29
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
The $50,000 reward for the return of data stolen from the home of an analyst with the federal agency has paid off as someone turned in the missing hardware containing the personal information about 26.5 million military personnel.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson told a House Committee that the missing laptop has been recovered by the FBI, according to a Bloomberg report. It is also possible that the sensitive data contained on the hardware has not been accessed since it vanished during a May 3rd burglary at the now-ex-analyst's home in Maryland.
The discovery removes some, but not all of the pressure on Nicholson, who has been on the hot seat over the issue for the past five weeks. His request earlier in the week for $160.5 million in funds to provide credit monitoring services for those impacted by the theft could not have been a pleasant experience.
Lawmakers are particularly keen to learn why the VA kept the theft under wraps for three weeks before reporting it. And they especially wish to know why the analyst had been taking that data home for the past three years.
That analyst will challenge his dismissal, the Washington Post noted. He reportedly had written permission to take the data home from as far back as 2002.
Meanwhile, the person who turned in the stolen hardware was not charged with a crime and most likely did not steal the laptop, an FBI spokesperson said in the report.
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Tag: Veterans Affairs
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About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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