Questions Over Veterans' Data Loss

Officials' Response To News Of Information Theft Scrutinized

(CBS/AP)  A day after the government announced the loss of sensitive personal information on more than 26 million U.S. veterans, questions remain about how truly deep the problem is.

That's because officials admit that data from some veterans' family members was lost, too. Veterans are asked to provide the Social Security numbers of their spouses and children.

Security experts say the potential for identity theft depends on what the thief was after. Security consultant Chris McGoey says if it was a simple home robbery, it's unlikely the stolen information will be used. However, he says under a worst-case scenario, the thief might have known exactly what to look for.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said there was no evidence so far that the burglars who struck the employee's home have used the personal data — or even know they have it.

But that sentiment fits along with the theme of downplaying the theft, which law enforcement offices seem to have been following from the start.

The burglary was reported on May 3, Orr reports. A long-time Veterans Affairs analyst told Montgomery County, Md., police someone pried open a window, broke into his home during daylight hours and stole a computer, an external drive, and a bag containing computer files.

Police records show another burglary was reported the same day just a few blocks away. But nothing was taken there.

About a week after the burglary, sources say, the VA contacted the local police and seemed to "downplay it then." Sources tell CBS News that the VA said the loss of data involved only "the names of hundreds of veterans" along with personal identifiers.

That changed dramatically Friday, May 19, when the FBI contacted local police and said "it was a much bigger deal" in terms of the personal information lost, Orr reports.

The Justice Department said it was not told about the theft of data on 26.5 million veterans until late last week — roughly two weeks after it was taken from a VA employee's home — raising questions of whether the agency acted quickly enough to notify veterans.

"Our investigation is ongoing," said Cathy Gromek, a spokeswoman for VA inspector general Jon Wooditch.

The VA disclosed this week that the personal information — mainly from veterans discharged since 1975 — was stolen from a mid-level employee's home in what appeared to be a routine burglary.

The material included the veterans' Social Security numbers, birthdates and in some cases a disability rating — a score of between 1 to 100 on how disabled a veteran is. The agency declined to say whether additional information regarding the nature of the disability was disclosed.

A letter (.pdf) is being sent to those veterans affected.

On Monday, the VA said it is notifying members of Congress and the individual veterans about the burglary. It also set up a call center at 1-800-FED-INFO and a Web site, http://www.firstgov.gov for veterans who believe their information has been misused.

The employee from whose home the data disk was stolen is mid-level career data analyst who carried home a work project that involved computer files containing the data. The employee has been placed on leave pending a review.