VA Laptop Recovered

A stolen laptop containing personal information on 26.5 million people has been recovered, and authorities believe the data on the computer was not accessed. The laptop, which belonged to the Department of Veterans Affairs, was stolen on May 3 from the home of a VA employee.

The agency was harshly criticized for waiting until May 22 to disclose the theft, and some veterans sued the government for $1,000 per person affected–a total of $26.5 billion. Following the announcement of a $50,000 reward, an individual contacted law enforcement officials and led them to the laptop. Initial forensic examinations indicated that the sensitive data had not been accessed since the laptop was stolen.

Further tests are scheduled to try to confirm that. The VA had said it would pay for credit-monitoring services for one year for those affected. The agency is reevaluating that offer, given the recovery of the laptop. Joe Davis, spokesperson for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the VA should honor its pledge to pay for the monitoring services unless it can show that the data were definitely not compromised.

New York Times, 30 June 2006 (registration req’d)