Washington, DC —
Senator John Thune, member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, today issued the following statement regarding the announcement by Veterans' Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson that the stolen computer and hard drive containing the names and Social Security numbers of 26.5 million veterans and active duty personnel have been recovered. Authorities are now waiting on FBI forensic analysis to confirm that the data has not been compromised.
"This is a positive development for the millions of veterans, active duty personnel and their family members whose identities and privacy were put in jeopardy by the recent security breach," Thune said. "The VA and law enforcement officials acted swiftly to recover these important records.
"While this is welcome news, the security breach remains a serious wake-up call about the need to bolster data protection throughout the government. I will continue to work with my colleagues on the Veterans' Affairs Committee to put measures in place to prevent any such breach from happening again."
"This is a positive development for the millions of veterans, active duty personnel and their family members whose identities and privacy were put in jeopardy by the recent security breach," Thune said. "The VA and law enforcement officials acted swiftly to recover these important records.
"While this is welcome news, the security breach remains a serious wake-up call about the need to bolster data protection throughout the government. I will continue to work with my colleagues on the Veterans' Affairs Committee to put measures in place to prevent any such breach from happening again."