SHORTY LONG
Senior Member
What is the name of your state? OHIO
07 AUG 2006
WASHINGTON—Officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs announced this afternoon that a VA contractor has discovered that a laptop computer containing information on as many as 38,000 veterans is missing. Matthew Burns, spokesman for the department, said the contractor, Unisys, told the VA that the laptop was missing from its Reston, Va., offices on Thursday, Aug. 3.
VA officials receiving the report immediately relayed it to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, R. James Nicholson, as well as to the agency's Inspector General, congressional leaders, the FBI and to the Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Response Team. "VA's Inspector General, the FBI and local law enforcement are conducting a thorough investigation of this matter," Nicholson said, in a prepared statement. According to Burns, a security team was dispatched to the Unisys location as soon as the agency found out about the missing laptop.
Burns said that the information on the missing laptop included veterans' names, addresses, Social Security numbers and birth dates, as well as insurance carriers, billing information and details of military service. He said the information came from about 5,000 patients at a Philadelphia VA Medical Center, about 11,000 from Pittsburgh, Pa., and about 2,000 deceased patients. In addition, the VA said it believes that about 20,000 more who received care at the Pittsburgh Medical Center may be included.
"VA is making progress to reform its information technology and cyber-security procedures, but this report of a missing computer at a subcontractor's secure building underscores the complexity of the work ahead as we establish VA as a leader in data and
information security," Nicholson said in his prepared statement. Burns said Unisys is cooperating fully with the VA in conducting the investigation.
07 AUG 2006
WASHINGTON—Officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs announced this afternoon that a VA contractor has discovered that a laptop computer containing information on as many as 38,000 veterans is missing. Matthew Burns, spokesman for the department, said the contractor, Unisys, told the VA that the laptop was missing from its Reston, Va., offices on Thursday, Aug. 3.
VA officials receiving the report immediately relayed it to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, R. James Nicholson, as well as to the agency's Inspector General, congressional leaders, the FBI and to the Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Response Team. "VA's Inspector General, the FBI and local law enforcement are conducting a thorough investigation of this matter," Nicholson said, in a prepared statement. According to Burns, a security team was dispatched to the Unisys location as soon as the agency found out about the missing laptop.
Burns said that the information on the missing laptop included veterans' names, addresses, Social Security numbers and birth dates, as well as insurance carriers, billing information and details of military service. He said the information came from about 5,000 patients at a Philadelphia VA Medical Center, about 11,000 from Pittsburgh, Pa., and about 2,000 deceased patients. In addition, the VA said it believes that about 20,000 more who received care at the Pittsburgh Medical Center may be included.
"VA is making progress to reform its information technology and cyber-security procedures, but this report of a missing computer at a subcontractor's secure building underscores the complexity of the work ahead as we establish VA as a leader in data and
information security," Nicholson said in his prepared statement. Burns said Unisys is cooperating fully with the VA in conducting the investigation.
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