(NT) 26.5 vets had their SS# & other info stolen

This incident stands to point up, once again, the ?disregard? for protecting sensitive information that exists throughout government agencies.

Remember the Los Alamos Lab thing a few years back, (Yep, Los Alamos National Laboratory, considered one of the most ?secure? activities around, where they develop, and supposedly help protect the nuclear assets of this country) where a hard drive containing highly sensitive information ?went missing?. As the investigation played out it revealed that ?scientists? considered themselves too highly paid and too busy to be bothered with maintaining signature audit trails of material, as required by law and regulation. A ?violative practice? that had existed for decades, back to the early days of the Manhattan Project. More than a few ?admin? types had been reassigned, or fired, over the years, for attempting to correct the problem.

Too many details not yet disclosed to draw too many conclusions in the current incident with the VA. They keep talking about ?data?. Not a laptop or such. Data ? CD?s ? How many burglars would be interested in CD?s ? Music or video possibly, but ?misc? CDs ?

If the burglars just ?scooped?, and haven?t sorted and thrown away, the media has certainly alerted them to a ?saleable? item.

This lack of responsible attention to the protection of sensitive information is prevalent throughout the bureaucracy of government. Too many bureaucrats spend an entire career in the same office, in the same job, attending meetings, writing reports of their daily activities, while oblivious of activity that needs attention.

Regular reassignment of department heads and supervisory personnel has great merit. Individuals responsible for implementing and monitoring security should answer to other than the head of the agency to which they are assigned.