Veterans Groups Sue Over Data Theft...

WASHINGTON - A coalition of veterans' groups charged in a lawsuit Tuesday that their privacy rights were violated after thieves stole personal data on 26.5 million military personnel from a Veterans Affairs employee.

The class-action lawsuit against the federal government, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, is the second suit since the VA disclosed the May 3 burglary two weeks ago.

It demands that the VA fully disclose which military personnel are affected by the data theft and seeks $1,000 in damages to each person - up to $26.5 billion total. The veterans are also asking for a court order barring VA employees from using sensitive data until independent experts determine proper safeguards.

"VA arrogantly compounded its disregard for veterans' privacy rights by recklessly failing to make even the most rudimentary effort to safeguard this trove of the personally identifiable information from unauthorized disclosure," the complaint states.

The VA said Tuesday it is in discussions with credit-monitoring services to determine "how veterans and others potentially affected can best be served" in the aftermath of the theft, according to spokesman Matt Burns. He said the VA has received no reports of stolen data being used for fraudulent purposes.

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,99941,00.html

Two pages of tripe. They basically tell us to watch our asses and our assets. Might have been nice if they'd done the same.