From a u.s.a. veteran to the u.s. gov.......fuck you very much!!!!!
 

assholes.

as a five year veteran to this country, i served without giving away your secret nuclear agendas, strategic attack plans, and sensitive national security intelligence. i protected you with a top secret clearance.

fuck you very much.

how to do allow one of your employees to siphon the personal data of 26 million american veterans and pack it home for whatever reason? every veteran in this country discharged since 1975 should feel a smack across the face for what you've just allowed to happen.

now, thanks to you, many of us will have our identities stolen, bank accounts drained, and fraud commited under our names due to your negligence.

fuck you very much.

i am disgusted with this country.

i feel your anger. i hate to say i saw it coming, but it doesn't take much to see these bastards are loyal to no one. do i have point out, again, that bin laden and hussein were our friends and partners 20 years ago?

that's terrible news... fucked up shit...

Sucks big time.

Seems the US Government has a long history of screwing over the people who served for their country.

Just plain wrong.

2c

that is very disturbing news

Servicemen are considered US property by the government. Like an old couch they're tossed out in the street when they are no longer of any use:(

well in my case i told them to get bent. i was offered sizable resigning bonuses to re-enlist, which they raised when i refused, and raised again. i walked. i saw through the scam after my five years of watching what they told the people on t.v. and what was really happening.

thanks assmunchers (gov), i appreciate your thanks for service all these "AMURICANS"

:321GFY :321GFY :mad: :mad:

Bump for you mate.

Yeh its truly a fucked up attitude towards vets.

My cousin's husband who is a doctor did some internship at the vet hospital in Westwood CA. He said it was really a fucked up hospital to work at and that they'd even test experimental medicines on the older guys without even explaining that to them. :(

Sorry for my ignorance/lack of knowledge AIREK but what went wrong?



Mike

what are you talking about? I checked cnn and see no link

sadly they have been doing that for decades:(

yeah, well if all the service men and women did a mass exodus at one time, laid down their weapons and just walked away into the sunset, we'd see how long it would take china or another superpower to walk in here and start shoving poles up peoples asses. then you'd see how much people loved their soldiers. its a classic taking for granted thing. i'm proud i served even if some classic non appreciators exist.

yesterday, 26.5 million identities of us service members (veterans) were stolen for some idiots house that worked for the dept of vet affairs.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20060523/tc_cmp/188101475

including mine and every gfy veteran that posts here.

names, birthplaces, socials, and much more.

what a fucking clusterfuck.

You seem to have an inside tip on just about every conspiracy theory on the planet.

:ugone2far

That pretty much sums up every government in the world.

People look at governments like they have supernatural powers. What the fuck are governments anyways? Just a bunch of regular people working 9 to 5 like everyone else. And most people are clusterfucked to begin with. So multiply that out to the millions working in running the country and what can you expect, but one gigantic clusterfuck.

Thief Steals Laptop With 26.5 Million Veterans' Identities

By Gregg Keizer
InternetWeek Mon May 22, 2:51 PM ET

Identity data on more than 26 million U.S. veterans and spouses has been stolen, the
Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson said that a VA data analyst took home a laptop that contained names,
Social Security numbers, and dates of birth for up to 26.5 million veterans and some spouses. The computer was stolen from the analyst's home in a recent burglary.

"Authorities believe it is unlikely the perpetrators targeted the items because of any knowledge of the data contents," said the VA in a statement. "It is possible that they remain unaware of the information which they posses or of how to make use of it."

Even so, the VA plans to send out notification letters to affected veterans, who can also go online to FirstGov and the VA's Web site for more information. A call center has also been set up to take telephone queries. The center will open Monday, and will be manned from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EDT Monday-Saturday. The toll-free number is 1-800-333-4636.

The VA data analyst, whose name has not been released, took home the information in violation of agency rules, and has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Nicholson said that he has briefed the Attorney General and the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as well as the co-chairs of the President's Identity Theft Task Force. The task force has begun working with credit bureaus to make sure veterans receive the free credit report entitled under law.

The task force is also meeting Monday to coordinate a response, recommend ways to protect affected veterans, and strengthen safeguards to prevent another such breach, said the VA.

According to the PrivacyRightsClearinghouse, which maintains a list of all data breaches, thefts, and losses since February 2005, the VA incident is the largest since the summer 2005 hack of CardSystems.

FROM THE VETERANS AFFAIRS WEBSITE



The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has recently learned that an employee, a data analyst, took home electronic data from the VA, which he was not authorized to do. This behavior was in violation of VA policies. This data contained identifying information including names, social security numbers, and dates of birth for up to 26.5 million veterans and some spouses, as well as some disability ratings. Importantly, the affected data did not include any of VA's electronic health records nor any financial information. The employee's home was burglarized and this data was stolen. The employee has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

Appropriate law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the VA Inspector General's office, have launched full-scale investigations into this matter. Authorities believe it is unlikely the perpetrators targeted the items because of any knowledge of the data contents. It is possible that they remain unaware of the information which they possess or of how to make use of it. However, out of an abundance of caution, the VA is taking all possible steps to protect and inform our veterans.

The VA is working with members of Congress, the news media, veterans service organizations, and other government agencies to help ensure that veterans and their families are aware of the situation and of the steps they may take to protect themselves from misuse of their personal information. The VA will send out individual notification letters to veterans to every extent possible. Additionally, working with other government agencies, the VA has set up a manned call center that veterans may call to get information about this situation and learn more about consumer identity protections. That toll free number is 1-800-FED INFO (1-800-333-4636). The call center will operate from 8 am to 9 pm (EDT), Monday-Saturday as long as it is needed.

Here are some questions you may have about this incident, and their answers.

I'm a veteran. How can I tell if my information was compromised?

At this point there is no evidence that any missing data has been used illegally. However, the Department of Veterans Affairs is asking all veterans to be extra vigilant and to carefully monitor bank statements, credit card statements and any statements relating to recent financial transactions. If you notice unusual or suspicious activity, you should report it immediately to the financial institution involved and contact the Federal Trade Commission for further guidance.

What is the earliest date at which suspicious activity might have occurred due to this data breach?

The information was stolen from an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs during the month of May 2006. If the data has been misused or otherwise used to commit fraud or identity theft crimes, it is likely that veterans may notice suspicious activity during the month of May.

I haven't noticed any suspicious activity in my financial statements, but what can I do to protect myself and prevent being victimized by credit card fraud or identity theft?

The Department of Veterans Affairs strongly recommends that veterans closely monitor their financial statements and review the guidelines provided on this webpage or call 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636).

Should I reach out to my financial institutions or will the Department of Veterans Affairs do this for me?

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not believe that it is necessary to contact financial institutions or cancel credit cards and bank accounts, unless you detect suspicious activity.

Where should I report suspicious or unusual activity?

The Federal Trade Commission recommends the following four steps if you detect suspicious activity:

Step 1 hahaha8211; Contact the fraud department of one of the three major credit bureaus:

* Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
* Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, Texas 75013
* TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Step 2 hahaha8211; Close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

Step 3 hahaha8211; File a police report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.

Step 4 hahaha8211; File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by using the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline by telephone: 1-877-438-4338, online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or by mail at Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20580.

I know the Department of Veterans Affairs maintains my health records electronically; was this information also compromised?

No electronic medical records were compromised. The data lost is primarily limited to an individual's name, date of birth, social security number, in some cases their spouse's information, as well as some disability ratings. However, this information could still be of potential use to identity thieves and we recommend that all veterans be extra vigilant in monitoring for signs of potential identity theft or misuse of this information.

What is the Department of Veterans Affairs doing to insure that this does not happen again?

The Department of Veterans Affairs is working with the President's Identity Theft Task Force, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate this data breach and to develop safeguards against similar incidents. The Department of Veterans Affairs has directed all VA employees complete the "VA Cyber Security Awareness Training Course" and complete the separate "General Employee Privacy Awareness Course" by June 30, 2006. In addition, the Department of Veterans Affairs will immediately be conducting an inventory and review of all current positions requiring access to sensitive VA data and require all employees requiring access to sensitive VA data to undergo an updated National Agency Check and Inquiries (NACI) and/or a Minimum Background Investigation (MBI) depending on the level of access required by the responsibilities associated with their position. Appropriate law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs, have launched full-scale investigations into this matter.

Where can I get further, up-to-date information?

The Department of Veterans Affairs has set up a special website and a toll-free telephone number for veterans that features up-to-date news and information. Please check this webpage for further updates or call 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636).



Page last updated, May 22, 2006

<-- another vet says FUCK TEAM BUSH!

They GOTTA be kidding. No one can be THAT stupid to take home sensitive information like that. 26+ million peoples info on a laptop and he's taking it with him home. HOME of all places. That shit should be in a huge box with the highest security level and if someone tried to take anything someone would shoot him in the ass and clearly state "NO! NO! NO!"

I fully understand why you're pisssed of. This is just ridiculous.

You think that's bad...

My last name starts with an A. :(:(:(

heres a link for more identity theft resources.

http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/

i don't sit and wait for things to happen to make moves.

<-- This Marine who's name and info is in that database too says, "FUCK YOU, YOU LAZY SHIT, TWINKLE TOED COCKSUCKERS!"

Just another example of big government buttfucking the people that protect it.

wonder if we can file a lawsuit, this is unexcusable

If my identity gets used from this... I'm suing the government.

~Ray
Navy 90-95

i left a message with my girl who's a prosecutor for riverside county in cali. she knows all this crap, i'm thinking 26.5 million people could start one hell of a class action suit. not sure if you can or not, but i will find out. if nothing else she can point me to who would love to tear their heads off. i'm not crossing my fingers, but theres gotta be something that can be done. power in numbers and i am sure that a large % of those 26.5 million people are probably pretty pissed off.