Why this analyst took data on 26.5 million veterans home?
A computer disk with personal data of about 26.5 million U.S. veterans was stolen from the home of a Veterans Affairs analyst, the federal department said Monday.
Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson said the stolen data included names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and numerical disability ratings. However, he said that no medical records or financial information had been compromised.
Nicholson said the theft occurred in May but declined to say where the theft took place, what form the information was in or what sort of access codes protected the data.
The analyst broke security rules and took the data home, then it was stolen in a burglary. The person has been placed on leave.
But I for one would sure like to get to the bottom of why the data was taken home in the first place.
Well, the answer could be that it’s a lot easier to sell something if you can show it to prospective buyers. Otherwise you’re only selling a promise to deliver something later, and that sort of product traditionally goes at quite a sharp discount from the real McCoy.
BTW, we once had a director of the FBI who also played fast and loose with restricted information. Then there was the problem with atomic secrets at national research labs. It happens much too frequently these days.
Seems like folks who have access to important information like to take it home with them. “Money talks,” and “Monkey see, monkey do,” are two of the most powerful explanations of human behavior ever expressed.