Apparently, the U.S. government has been spying on far more Americans than most of us have assumed, and that interest may have put the personal and financial data of more than 26 million veterans at risk.
The names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and, in some cases, spousal information of veterans discharged since 1975, residing on a laptop, was stolen from the home of a Veterans Affairs (VA) department analyst. VA officials claim medical and financial information wasn't compromised, but if hackers have an American's Social Security card data, anything is possible.
As a result of the theft, consumer groups have begun pushing for the removal of Social Security numbers from some 45 million military and Medicare cards which could cost more than $100 million to change. Still, this latest theft of records involves electronic information not found on any cards.
Hopefully, you're as concerned as I am about the whittling down of privacy rights protected by the Fourth Amendment, under the guise of terrorism protection.
Another major concern came to light yesterday when FCC Chief Kevin Martin revealed his agency won't investigate the National Security Agency scandal due to the classified nature of their work. Sounds mighty convenient, doesn't it?
AAPS Online.org May 23, 2006
USA Today May 24, 2006
Broadband Reports.com May 23, 2006