Stolen laptop with veterans' info recovered
Caroline McCarthy Former Staff writer, CNET News
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos.
An official announcement was made Thursday that a laptop computer containing the personal information of around 26.5 million veterans and military personnel has been recovered, CNN reports.
The laptop disappeared from a government employee's home in May in what could be one of the biggest thefts of Social Security numbers ever. The employee who took home the laptop, which also included veterans' and their spouses' dates of birth, did so in violation of Department of Veterans' Affairs policy.
Veterans' Affairs secretary Jim Nicholson says there have been no instances of identity theft reported to date.