Schumer Reveals at Least 350,000 Upstate NY Vets' Info Stolen During VA Data Theft - Unveils New Plan for All Government Agencies to Keep Personal Dat

SCHUMER REVEALS AT LEAST 350,000 UPSTATE NY VETS' INFO STOLEN DURING VA DATA THEFT - UNVEILS NEW PLAN FOR ALL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO KEEP PERSONAL DATA SECURE

In Light of VA Data Theft and Security Breaches at Depts. of Energy and Health and Human Services, Schumer Announces New Legislation Mandating New Security Standards for Federal Agencies and Tougher Penalties for Stealing Personal Information from Government Databases

Schumer: We Can't Ask the Private Sector to Put Safeguards in Place While Our Own Government is Asleep at the Switch

An Estimated 352,601 Upstate Gulf War, Vietnam, and other Vets' Discharged After 1975 Information Could Have Been Lost: 46,000 Vets in Capital Region; Central NY 41,000; Rochester/Finger Lakes 50,000; Hudson Valley 84,000; North Country 28,000; Southern Tier 32,000; Western NY 71,000

On the heels of new identity theft breaches at the Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer unveiled a new report showing at least 350,000 Upstate New York veterans could have had their most sensitive information, including their social security numbers, stolen when a laptop was taken from a Department of Veterans Affairs' employee's home. In response to this significant data breach and many others reported in the federal government, Schumer, who authored comprehensive identity theft legislation last year, announced new measures to crack down on ID theft and protect sensitive personal information held in government databases.

"We can't ask the private sector to put safeguards in place while our own government is asleep at the switch," Schumer said. "Our veterans have already sacrificed so much for this country, they shouldn't have to put their financial well-being on the line too. Our legislation will close a gaping loophole in the law by focusing on protecting federal databases and punishing the hackers and thieves who try to steal this very sensitive information for financial gain. The bottom line is, what bank robbery was to the Depression Era, ID theft is to the Information Age."

On May 22, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that the personal information, including names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and in some cases, spousal information, of more than 26.5 million active and former military personnel stored on a Department laptop was stolen from the home of a VA employee three weeks earlier. The employee was not authorized to take the laptop containing the information on it home.

According to the Department of Veterans affairs, 26.5 million identities were stolen from the laptop including, 1.1 million active duty personnel, 430,000 National Guard members, and 645,000 Reservists. The remaining 24.3 identities were veterans. The data breach potentially affects all veterans who were discharged after 1975 when the VA began automating it records and veterans who ever filed a claim for VA disability compensation, pension, or education benefits, or who have (or had) a VA insurance policy, whether their claim was denied or not.

Schumer today released a new report estimating the number of Upstate New York veterans who were affected by the data breach. Schumer used population and duration of service data from the Department of Veterans Affairs to estimate those who were discharged after 1975 or filed a disability claim after the Vietnam War.

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/2006/PR211.VA%20Data%20Theft%20Bill.062106.html