Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., issued the following statement in response to news reports that computer equipment containing veterans’ names, birth dates, social security numbers, and disability information were stolen from the home of a Department of Veteran’s Affairs employee.
“I am deeply troubled that personal identity information of more than 26 million veterans has been put at risk because of a security lapse at a federal agency. This is another reminder that the federal government is not doing enough to protect the security of its computers and the vast amounts of sensitive data those systems contain. “I am particularly outraged that this latest security breach affects our veterans, who sacrifice much for their country, and who deserve every protection of their personal information. “I will monitor the progress of ongoing inquiries by the Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General and by the FBI, and I intend to explore more generally how personal data throughout the government can be better secured against this kind of loss.”