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Veterans Administration Now Known As Ministry For Data Leaks
from the leak-rinse-repeat dept
In the middle of last year, a laptop and hard drive containing personal information on 26.5 million US veterans were stolen from an employee's home. While the equipment was recovered, and the government claimed the data had not been accessed, the theft highlighted the lax security procedures of the VA -- and another theft a few months later reinforced it. Now, try not to be surprised, but it's happened again, as portable hard drive containing personal information on 48,000 vets has gone missing from an Alabama facility. Despite the VA saying it was beefing up data security after the first theft by taking measures including putting encryption software on all its laptops and desktop PCs, apparently as many as 20,000 records on this latest hard drive weren't encrypted. While encryption is by no means a cure-all, it's pretty ridiculous that even after the previous high-profile events, the VA still can't be bothered to even take this first step with all its data. There's a total lack of accountability and responsibility here: while there's been talk of mandating stiffer penalties for individuals who are negligent with personal data, that's nothing more than smoke and mirrors. It hides the real problem, which is an environment that, from the top down, accepts and excuses this sort of behavior. Until that changes, expect more data leaks.
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Reader Comments (rss)
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Hey, that's across the street
What would anyone do with data theft in Alabama, though? I enjoy the local low-security culture. It's not like California, where security guard bullies are always threatening to arrest anyone who so much as walks into a store through the wrong entrance.
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HIPPA
However outside of IT I have found no one takes HIPPA seriously. Just goes to show you that if you don't understand a thing you don't respect it.
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Re: Hey, that's across the street
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Electronic Security
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Shame
Who cares about veterans with short-order lovers, car chases, knuckheads who eat their children, politicians posing for dingle-boy magazine, runners to corner blocks for daily shooters of ills we lover, and the veteran begs for a dollar while offering directions to Macy's on G street....
Can I get a war, so Vets can find some love!!!
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It's a Policy Issue!
BTW the government is NOT exempt from HIPAA; on top of that, as a Federal agency, the DVA is also subject to FISMA, the Federal Information Security Management Act, which is much tougher than any IT security standards legislatively required of any commercial entities.
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Re: Re: Hey, that's across the street
They are allowed to arrest people, they carry handcuffs and pepper spray, sometimes even guns. They are usually incompetent Mexican-Americans on a power trip. I haven't been arrested, but I've seen them do it to others for trivial offenses like standing in the wrong place.
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Re: Shame
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