Military Data Theft Debacle

June 8, 2006

Media sources today reveal that the theft of a laptop from a U.S. government employee's house last month may have compromised the personal information of not only veterans since 1975, but as much as 80 percent of active duty military personnel, which leads to concerns about not only identity theft, but the safety and security of those military service people. (Why would anyone with a brain store that much sensitive data on a single laptop that could not only be stolen, but left on a train, a taxi or the counter of a coffee shop by a single employee???)

MSNBC states that, "Montgomery County police released a description yesterday of the stolen laptop and its external hard drive because they said it may have been purchased by someone who does not realize the value of its content. 'It could have shown up at a yard sale or a secondhand store,' police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said. 'This is a time of the year when parents may be buying computers for kids going to college in the fall.'

Great. The security of the U.S. armed forces lies in the hopes of a lucky break at a tag sale.

TES