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DEMOCRATIC PRESS RELEASE

Monday, February 5, 2007

VA’s Information Security Fails Again

Filner Critical of Loss of Unprotected Records

Washington, D.C. – House VA Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) expressed grave concern regarding a recent revelation by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that a portable computer hard drive, potentially containing personal information on veterans, was reported missing by an employee at a VA facility in Birmingham, AL. The scope of this incident and the number of veterans potentially adversely affected remains unknown. Filner is concerned that even one government-owned portable storage device at VA was still not fully encrypted or protected following the 2006 incident when VA reported a possible loss of personal information on over 26 million veterans.

“There is no excuse for storing sensitive personal information about our veterans on portable, government equipment that is not secure,” observed Filner. “This type of problem happened last May and we were very lucky to recover that hard drive – we are not always going to be that fortunate,” he concluded.

In 2006, the House Veterans Affairs Committee launched a robust series of non-partisan hearings to explore that particular incident and passed legislation to address this issue at VA. Filner vows to work with VA leaders to further address this type of problem.

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Larry Scott

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