VA fined $20 million over data breach
The United States Veteran Affairs (VA) Department has agreed to pay $20 million to veterans whose personal details were lost after the theft of one of its laptops.
The theft of the laptop and external drive containing were stolen in 2006 from the home of an employee and contained the unencrypted names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of up to 26.5 million veterans and active-duty service members.
The employee notified his bosses immediately but it was three weeks before the VA publically admitted that the theft had taken place and warned veterans of the possible danger. The theft prompted the VA to begin encrypting all software.
