VA to offer free credit monitoring after theft of peronal info of millions of veterans

(AP) The government said Wednesday it would provide free credit monitoring to millions of veterans whose personal information was stolen last month, and it acknowledged it was not close to catching those responsible.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said the agency would seek to protect veterans and military troops against identity theft after their names, Social Security numbers and birthdates were taken from a department data analyst's home on May 3.

Any of the 17.5 million people known to have had their Social Security numbers compromised will be eligible for one year of credit monitoring. The VA has said up to 26.5 million could be affected, although some appeared to be duplicate names.

The move is expected to cost millions of dollars. Credit monitoring on average costs $50 to $150 per person each year, although rates are often lower when purchased in bulk. That price tag is in addition to the $14 million the VA has spent to notify and assist veterans in what has become one of the nation's largest security breaches.

"It's not going to be cheap," Nicholson said at a news briefing, adding that authorities were no closer to finding the stolen data. "Free credit monitoring will help safeguard those who may be affected, and will provide them with the peace of mind they deserve."

He said those who have gotten letters from the VA saying they are at risk will receive additional information _ probably in early August after the VA solicits bids from contractors _ on how to sign up for the free monitoring for a year.

The VA also will hire a company for data analysis to look for possible misuse of the personal information. There have been no reports so far of any identity theft stemming from the burglary in suburban Maryland.

Veterans groups and lawmakers from both parties have criticized the agency about the theft and noted years of warnings by auditors that information security was lax. The data analyst _ who is in the process of being dismissed _ had taken the information home, apparently without his supervisor's knowledge.

The VA has been criticized for waiting nearly three weeks _ until May 22 _ to notify veterans about the theft.

Earlier this month, more than 150 House Democrats called on President Bush to request new money to provide credit monitoring to veterans. Veterans groups have filed suit against the VA, charging their privacy was violated and demanding $1,000 in damages for each person.

On Wednesday, veterans advocates praised the announcement as a good first step.

"Any resources expended to address the VA data breach must not be taken from the VA's current budget but rather should be new funds, as veterans and military families must not be punished for the administration's failures," said Rep. Lane Evans, D-Ill., the top Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Joe Davis, spokesman for Veterans of Foreign Wars, agreed. "We fully expect the Congress and the administration will provide the additional funding so that no VA program is negatively impacted," he said.

At the briefing, Nicholson said the VA was working with the White House to identify money to pay for the credit monitoring. No money will come out of program services, although there may be ways administratively to "tighten the belt," he said.

The VA has said it cost the government about $14 million to set up an information call center as well as notify veterans and troops of the data theft by letter. An additional $200,000 is being spent per day to maintain the call center.

It will cost millions of dollars to notify veterans by letter in early August about the credit monitoring and then to pay the contractor to provide the monitoring to veterans and military troops, said Sen. Larry Craig, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.

"This is a tremendous move by the administration which should put minds at ease," said Craig, R-Idaho. "The VA is responsible for the data breach, and it should be responsible for providing services to correct it. But it won't be free to taxpayers."

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On the Net:

For veterans suspecting identity theft: http://www.firstgov.gov or 1-800-FED-INFO