Over 26 million veterans had confidential data, including Social Security numbers and birthdates, stolen when a Veterans Affairs (VA) employee's home was burglarized. The employee had taken a laptop that contained the information home, and the laptop was then stolen.
The VA secretary said that medical and financial information was not compromised. However, because criminals can easily steal a person's identity (and financial information) if they have a person's name and Social Security number, consumer groups are now calling for Social Security numbers to be removed from at least 45 million Medicare and military cards -- a move that would cost more than $100 million.
Meanwhile, a former National Security Agency (NSA) analyst has written a commentary on the dwindling privacy of Americans, particularly as it relates to the scandal involving the NSA's illegal acquisition of Americans' phone records. This spying, he says, is putting the United States in danger.
Ironically, the Federal Communications Commission has announced that it will not investigate the allegations against the NSA (and AT&T's alleged involvement) because of the classified nature of the NSA's work.
