A lost laptop containing sensitive data of over 26 million American veterans has been found, and preliminary reviews indicate that no information appears to have been accessed, according to the FBI and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
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| Source: SecurityLabs |
The aforementioned laptop and external hard drive went missing from the home of a VA employee in early May. Inside it were names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, and a plethora of other important data of 26.2 million American veterans.
However, according to a statement from the VA, “the database remains intact and has not been accessed since the laptop was stolen.” The FBI and VA are continuing their investigations, and final results will be released “as soon as possible.”
According to the FBI, an anonymous individual returned the laptop to the VA office in Baltimore on Wednesday. However, the agency has no information regarding the “whereabouts” of the laptop during the time it was stolen.
Initial speculation from authorities suggests that this was merely a common theft and the perpetrator viewed the laptop as a potentially valuable item. However, after learning about the media frenzy surrounding the personal data, the individual decided to return it to avoid trouble.
In the wake of this incident, the U.S. government is currently facing a wave of backlash as a series of similar data theft cases have emerged within various government agencies, from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Energy.
Opposition parties have accused the government of allowing sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, to be potentially exploited by malicious actors for credit card fraud and other purposes.
Additionally, the government has been criticized for its careless handling of important information and its sluggish response to the theft. It should be noted that the incident occurred in early May, but it was not publicly disclosed until May 22, nearly three weeks later.
Tian Yi
