Senator says identity-theft protection should be priority
Posted on Friday, May 26, 2006
BENTON COUNTY — The personal information of 26.5 million veterans should never have been compromised, and the U.S. Senate should move ahead with his security-freeze legislation that would protect individuals when such security breaches do occur, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said Thursday.
Investigators told Congress that a Veterans Affairs data analyst who lost the personal data on 26.5 million veterans improperly took the information home for three years before it was stolen on May 3.
During a joint hearing by the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Veterans Committee, Pryor criticized the Veterans Administration for its lax security that has now led to a missing disk full of veterans’ names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth.
He was also alarmed that the VA waited three weeks before informing the public about the theft, the largest unauthorized disclosure ever of Social Security data, the Arkansas senator said.
Veterans affected by the security breach — primarily those discharged after 1975 and some of their spouses — can call a toll-free hotline number, (800) 333-4636, to learn more information, Pryor said. "Identity theft is a serious concern, costing consumers time and money to fix. The fact that millions of veterans are now at risk because of a government mistake makes this breach all the more troubling. It’s critical the VA and law enforcement take immediate steps to mitigate any further anxiety or damage created by this incident,"he said.
While there have not been reports of identity theft resulting from the stolen disk, veterans should have a better way to protect themselves instead of having to collect credit reports and keep a careful eye on their credit in the future, Pryor said.
He asked Senate leaders to expedite plans for the full Senate to consider the legislation, S. 1408, the Identity Theft Protection Act.
A major component of this legislation is Pryor’s "security-freeze"initiative, which would allow individuals the option to place a freeze on their credit records, thereby preventing businesses and potential thieves from looking at consumers’ credit files and opening up new accounts in their names. If the consumer applies for credit, he or she may lift the freeze temporarily so the application can be processed.
The bill was passed by the Commerce Committee on Dec. 8, 2005, and has since been awaiting consideration by the full Senate, Pryor said. "This latest security breach by the VA is an example of why consumers should have control over their own personal financial information, and why Congress must pass meaningful identity-theft protections,"Pryor said. "If these veterans had the ability to fully protect themselves with a security freeze, we could all rest a lot easier,"the Arkansas senator said.
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